Posted by
Darrick Johnson on Thursday, August 14, 2008 9:45:28 PM
Barack Obama's crack staff just put out a response to the New York Times best seller "Obama Nation" by Jerome Corsi. From the looks of it, it would have been a good day for Obama's staff to go on vacation with their boss, rather than publish
this response.
First, as others have pointed out, this looks a lot like using a hatchet as a flyswatter. I haven't read Corsi's book, but I think its fair to say the book, while selling very well, wasn't going to be influential to undecided or Obama-leaners. The press that protected John Edwards from unfriendly facts wasn't going to put Corsi's allegations on a front page anytime soon.
Second, Obama's response reads like a North Korean or Cuban state-run publication, lots of over-the-top adjectives, non-sequiters, but not a lot of substance. Its the kind of thing that you only see from organizations where ideologies aren't exactly diverse, and editors don't feel free to say things like "you might want to tone that phrase down a bit...", or "...that doesn't make our case very well..."
Third, Obama's response doesn't answer the claims that it purports to, and in many cases, brings Obama's major weaknesses back to the forefront.
An example...
LIE:
“As a vice president, Madelyn Dunham would have earned enough to be well off, even if not rich.” [p 71]
REALITY: DUNHAMS LIVED MODESTLY
Obama’s Grandparents Rented A Two Bedroom Apartment In Honolulu.
The Chicago Tribune reported,
“At age 11, Obama was sent to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. They lived in a modest two-bedroom Honolulu apartment in order to save money for Obama’s tuition to attend the Punahou Academy, an elite private school.” [Emphasis mine] [Chicago Tribune, 10/22/2004]
Let's get this straight...A two-bedroom apartment in Honolulu isn't exactly an Airstream trailer. A quick search on CNN's money page reveals that Honolulu housing today costs about 63% more than my hometown of Greeley, Colorado, part of the flyover country that Obama thinks he can appeal to. Obama's defense on the very gentle charge of being "well-off" points out that he lived in a expensive area, and went to an elite private school. Well done.
More to follow...