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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008 Will this Obama tract do damage? By Jerry Cornfield, Herald Columnist Attacks in the heat of a campaign can take many forms. The traditional means of accusatory combat are mailers, radio ads and TV commercials. Technology is expanding the modes for slashing your opponent's credibility to include e-mail, blogs and viral videos. And increasingly there is the New York Times best-seller list. Debuting at No. 1 this week is "The Obama Nation," a 304-page tome on why the United States should not elect Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as president. Jerome Corsi, the notoriously famous seer of conspiracy, is the arranger and choreographer of this dance of literature. This is no waltz. It combines an energetic twist of facts and two-step on reality for a performance Corsi hopes carries the power of his 2004 bestseller "Unfit for Command" that helped sink Sen. John Kerry's bid for the White House. Critics of that book claimed its facts were scattered and buried deep amid a muck of fiction. By the time they dug out the truth, the damage to Kerry had been done. This time around, a multitude of fact-checkers will be deployed to carve up the creative dialectic of Corsi, who asserts it is "thoroughly researched and documented" through pages of footnotes. The aim is to keep Obama out of the White House, not put Republican Sen. John McCain in it. Corsi writes that he's voting for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, apparently wanting to dispel thoughts this printed work is the product of collusion with the GOP. It's hard to think otherwise, since the marketing whiz behind this hardcover hit piece is veteran Republican strategist Mary Matalin. The combination of his artful talent and her industrious nature could deliver results in some states, but not here. Too many Washington voters pride themselves on their independent-minded nature and won't be easily swayed by a manifesto of claims. While Obama's race and McCain's age are potentially decisive factors, only a small portion of those casting ballots will likely rifle through the penned urgings of Corsi to find justification for their decision. Finally, a majority isn't prone in a recession to rush out and plunk down $15.99 for a book with an expiration date of Nov. 4. Ultimately, the effectiveness of this bound volume of attack in the campaign lies not in its content and sales but in the tone and quantity of response to it. In that way, it's a good week for Corsi. The book received a front page story in the New York Times, a peg on the ladder of national bestsellers, a visible spot in my local Costco and, of course, this column. Obama and his campaign leaders can't ignore it, as an unanswered attack can let a damaging message sink in. They must read it before leaping, defusing any land mines before they get exploded. They'll be moving quickly because there's plenty of time for more traditional fighting in this campaign. Political reporter Jerry Cornfield's blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

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