Raising The Sunken Swiftboats
by digby
On the heels of the latest polling showing that a rather large majority of Republicans really want to believe that Barack Obama cannot possibly be a legitimate president, (vthis shouldn't come as any surprise (via email):
Donald Trump has been churning up the 2012 presidential race with his many
questions about Barack Obama's eligibility, and now a book, "Where's the Birth
Certificate? The Case That Barack Obama Is Not Eligible to Be President," by
two-time No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Jerome Corsi, is creating more
waves.
Today it was headlined on the Drudge Report, which declared, "The street date is
a LONG month away, and author Jerome Corsi, the man who torpedoed John Kerry's
presidential dreams with SWIFT BOAT, has gone underground and is holding his new
findings thisclose.
"'It's utterly devastating,' reveals a source close to the publisher. 'Obama may
learn things he didn't even know about himself!'" Drudge said.
Drudge wondered whether the president's attorneys will "attempt to interfere
with the book's distribution?" and whether the book will "finally - once and for
all - put an end to the growing controversy?"
The image of the book was seen on Rush Limbaugh's personal computer today as he
broadcast his top-rated radio program from his Florida studio.
Jerome Corsi's "Where's the Birth Certificate?" book can be partially seen
featured on the Drudge Report on Rush Limbaugh's computer as he broadcast his
radio show from South Florida Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
"The book results from three years of continuing research," Corsi said today. "I
traveled to Kenya and to Hawaii - I have hired private investigators and had the
help of inside sources in Kenya, Indonesia and Hawaii. The book will contain
startling new information, and the release of the book will be orchestrated
through WND with documents the public has never seen before."
Interest in the controversy has accelerated in recent months. There was Hawaii
Gov. Neil Abercrombie's famous pledge to find Barack Obama's birth certificate
and make it public to shut up the so-called "birthers."
The governor's quest raised national interest in the issue - especially when he
failed to produce the promised documentation. Members of Congress have raised
similar questions about Obama's eligibility, and state lawmakers are considering
plans to require documentation from presidential candidates.
Then came Trump out of the blue, asking questions WND's newsroom team has been
asking for the last two and a half years, raising the national debate to furious
new heights.
Now another shoe is ready to drop.
Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND and WND Books, the
publisher of the book, declared, "Potentially, I believe this book is the
political endgame for Barack Obama."
"I don't see how he can be re-elected with hard questions and new evidence of
his ineligibility raised by the book. It's a game-changer - and the news media
blackout on this issue has now turned into a media feeding frenzy to cover their
negligent rear ends."
I'm sure the book is complete nonsense. But I'm afraid that Cokie's Law is in effect-- "it's out there." And that means we are probably in for a very, very stupid summer.
I doubt this will still be prominently on the menu in the fall of 2012 (although they'll certainly be serving it to those who want it.) But it's yet another example of how the right wing noise machine can churn out a bucket of tabloid offal disguised as news and the mainstream media cannot stop themselves from digging in.
Update: Aaaand... Breitbart's site goes all-in.
Update II: Oh fergawdsakes.
h/t to @tarkloon
.