Who Is This Corsi Guy, And Why Is He Saying Such Bad Things About Obama?

The author Jerome Corsi is currently in the news these days as he trots about his whirlwind tour to promote his new book attacking Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Most will recall his prior opus attacking John Kerry in the prior Presidential Campaign, “Unfit for Command.” But too little is known generally about the background of Corsi. His public protestation of “scholarship” is suspect, in light of the immediately apparent false and unsubstantiated charges that he makes in the book. His history provides a better context in which to evaluate and accept or dismiss his book, and his motivations for writing. In this regard, motivation and the forces behind publication of such a book are perhaps more important that the content of the book itself.

Corsi is 62 year old and has a record of several careers. Hi first career was as an undistinguished academic for about a decade after receiving a doctorate in political science from Harvard University. He reportedly taught and conducted academic research in three different states over that period. It is not clear whether he was in any institution of higher education long enough to merit tenure as a professor. No such scholarship or academic distinction is reported. He then left academia for a career in financial services.

During that stint in financial services, Corsi and a partner Rockefeller he met in Las Vegas approached a group of Minnesota investors about amassing a mutual fund to invest in Polish companies. About 20 people lost over $1.2 million in the deal that resulted from Corsi’s “investment project.” The failed deal resulted in lawsuits and judgments against Corsi, so there is some record of what transpired. Corsi guaranteed $250,000 of the investor’s money. During a trip to Poland to pursue the investment project, Corsi split off on his own and began dealing directly and separately with Polish contacts. Money subsequently wired to Polish partner that Corsi had been involved in connecting with the group mysteriously disappeared. Despite the obvious earmarks of a confidence scheme, the full facts are still not established.

To avoid being accused of the same type of irresponsible authorship based upon unsubstantiated facts used by Corsi, it is sufficient to say that the judicially accepted evidence presented in the legal proceedings led the court to enter judgment against Corsi respecting his dealings with Minnesota investors. They were not able to collect from Corsi, as he had moved all of his assets in his wife’s name. That action may speak volumes as to Corsi’s integrity.

Corsi switched to a career as a writer in 2004. CORSI approached John O’Neill, founder of an anti-Kerry organization called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. With O’Neill’s support and encouragement, Corsi wrote and published “Unfit for Command.” That book was filled with proven lies, distortions and malicious innuendo that attacked Kerry’s record during the Viet Nam War and his celebrated anti-war activities afterward. The publisher was Regnery Publishing, a Right Wing publisher that is a subsidiary of Eagle Publishers. Last year, Corsi and others writers sued Eagle for alleged wrongfully reducing royalty payments. The suit alleged that the company had improperly given away copies of the book to subscribers to its periodical publications and to members of its Conservative Book Club. The suit was dismissed.

To show an idea of Corsi’s mindset, the following is a quote from a Boston Globe Article is instructive:
Among the commentaries he has since acknowledged writing, Corsi falsely labeled Democratic Senators Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy and former president Bill Clinton as communists, suggested without any evidence that Hillary Clinton was a lesbian, called Pope John Paul II "senile" and Arabs "ragheads," and asserted that Islam is "a peaceful religion as long as the women are beaten, the boys [sodomized], and the infidels killed." [Corsi now claims that these statements do not represent his real beliefs....]

Corsi’s screed against Kerry proved an important factor in the election, not because of its intrinsic merit but rather because it caused Kerry to spend valuable time and resources responding to its reprehensible lies and distortions. The mainstream media was more focused on a public sideshow in the Presidential campaign that sold papers and airtime that upon responsible and ethical journalism to inform the public. This coverage gave undeserved weight or credibility to Corsi’s book. Clearly, if the book had been on any other topic, its lack of substantiation and poor writing would have banished it to obscurity in the context of a more professional journalistic climate.

Now Corsi comes forward with a similar attack book against Obama, “The Obama Nation.” Despite his public protestations to “scholarship,” Corsi stated to the Boston Globe reporter his intent regarding this book about Obama as follows: "I set out to prevent an Obama presidency from happening."

A scholar researches and examines the facts and writes his material based upon where those substantiated facts lead. A polemicist and a fraud first decides upon his or her agenda and then finds or manufactures “facts” to support that preconceived agenda. It is not difficult to see which category Corsi falls into.

The more surprising event, however, is that this new book could wind up on the best seller list when it is clear that it is written with the same motive and the same lack of professionalism and integrity as was “Unfit For Command.” Why would the New York Times allow itself to be used in such a manner a second time?

Certainly, conservative groups could buy up sufficient copies to place the book in “best seller” category. Doing so would be a cynical and effective way for the McCain campaign to gain advertising and publicity for a smear campaign without direct attribution. While $1 million might only buy production and airtime for a single television ad campaign, using the same amount to purchase enough copies of Corsi’s book to place it on a best seller list ensures weeks of unethical and negative publicity against Obama for which the McCain campaign need not take the credit or blame. The mindless pack dog mentality of the media is unlikely to understand or care about how they are being used.

So now we know who this Corsi guy is. Why is he writing these bad things about Obama? The simple answer is that he is an opportunist who believes, with good reason, that unscrupulous campaign backers and mindless media executives will pay him handsomely for being an “agent provocateur.” Regardless of his actual beliefs or his level of ethics or professionalism, he believes that he is in for another big payday. These days, that seems to be the recipe for the “American Dream” in politics.