Jerome Corsi, PhD has another book coming out. Of course, it’s about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Because, what else is there to talk about? Right? Certainly not Libya. We’re still at ‘kinetic military action’ with them, right?
Corsi thrives on these types of things: conspiracy-theory-esque issues concerning liberal politicians (see: Obama Nation and Unfit for Command, the “bombshell” book about John Kerry’s Swift Boat days.) So it should come as no surprise that Corsi has grabbed the “birther” cause by the horns and run with it, with the forthcoming title, Where’s the Birth Certificate? (sigh). But will it do any good? Almost certainly not. Here’s the description of the book (via Amazon.com):
Prognosticate as to the book’s contents as you will, but there’s a larger issue here. Why is the Right at large so deeply concerned and invested in this?
I get that the president of the United States must be a natural born American citizen. And I get that Obama’s been withholding when it comes to his long-form birth certificate. But, the man spent several years running for president, and this has always been an issue. I’m sure he has his ducks in a row.
Whether you think there’s a birth certificate or not—indeed, whether there actually is a birth certificate or not—should be moot at this point. And yet a large percentage of America and the Right in particular have become obsessed with it.
And it’s one of the best things that could have happened to President Obama and his allies. Millions are consumed with the birth certificate issue. Legislation has been proposed concerning it, books are being written about it, keyboards have been worn thin with the amount of articles dashed off about it, and it’s a small wonder that anybody at FOX News has a functioning voice after all the shouting that’s been done about it. And meanwhile, real issues float by, with little notice.
Instead of thumping the birther drum, the Right would do well to regroup and focus all that energy on actual legislation and policy that will affect us and affect us greatly, instead of spending all our time tilting at windmills.
Because at the end of the day, whether or not you believe Obama is eligible to be president (I happen to think he is), he is still going to be president. And his policies are going to affect the country.
Corsi’s book isn’t going to tell you where Obama’s birth certificate is…or where it isn’t. It will not definitively answer the question of Obama’s citizenship. That’s almost a guarantee. What it will do is stir the pot some more. It will incite anger. But it will be fruitless, directionless anger.
And all the while, the pressing concerns of the day get passed over. If I were President Obama, I’d never produce my birth certificate. It’s a ready-made deflector shield for his controversial policies. Or a shiny object used to distract children.
