Unconventional Wisdom: Conservative Case Against Corsi

Peter Wehner writes in Commentary that conservatives and the GOP should distance themselves from smear merchants like Jerome Corsi and "Obama Nation."

As for the book: it seems to be riddled with factual errors–some relatively minor (like asserting that Obama does not mention the birth of his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, in Dreams from My Father; Obama does mention her), and some significant (suggesting that Obama favors withdrawing troops from Afghanistan; he wants to do the opposite). But more problematic, I think, is Corsi’s claim that Obama has “extensive connections to Islam” and his suggestion that Obama is a recent drug user. Those claims are, from everything I can tell, unsubstantiated. (When challenged to produce the evidence, Corsi counters with the “prove you’re not beating your wife” defense.)

Corsi’s approach to politics is both destructive and self-destructive. If Senator Obama loses, he should lose on the merits: his record in public life and his political philosophy. And while it’s legitimate to take into account Obama’s past associations with people like the Reverend Jeremiah Wright–especially for someone like Obama, about whom relatively little is known–it wrong and reckless to throw out unsubstantiated charges and smears.

How refreshing to read such honorable sentiments from a political faction that potentially stands to benefit from a less than savory subject. Too bad that John McCain couldn't do better than say "Gotta keep your sense of humor."

--Ballard Burgher