Richard Spencer

October 07, 2008

This morning I was greeted by the Drudge Report headline “Kenya Detains Anti-Obama Reporter.” Well, the reporter in question is Jerome Corsi, a rather odd bird. For much of the Democratic Left, he’s known as a fierce Republican partisan capable of Rovian ruthlessness?he was the brains behind the “Swift Boating” of John Kerry after all. But then Corsi has another side, one that’s actually rather anti-Republican and “lunatic fringe” (not that there?s anything wrong with that). He’s spoken out strongly against the destruction of the value of the dollar (kudos!) and the rise of the so-called “North American Union” (which is a rather open “conspiracy” and deserves serious scrutiny, in my mind). He’s also gone onto the Alex Jones radio program and claimed that there’s some there there with regard to “9/11 Truth” (a far, far more dubious assertion than the previous ones.) 

Anyway, Corsi got back into pro-Republican mode this summer and published an anti-Obama book, The Obama Nation (cool title). One of the more interesting allegations is that Obama has connections, ultimately through his father, to the Kenyan socialist politician Raila Odinga. Corsi explains what he’s talking about in this “Hannity & Colmes” interview. 

As everyone knows, the Republi-hacks have been screaming “Bill Ayers, Bill Ayers!” this week, to little effect. Obama’s connection to a Kenyan politician would be far more of a shocker?and I think the Republicans would be willing go this far.

Of course, let’s not forget that there’s a substantial portion of the American population for whom these allegations would be water off a duck’s back. Indeed, the Kenyan connection would recommend Obama to them, cement his status as an extra- or post-American Messiah come to redeem out-of-balance, intolerant Western culture. But, of course, these people will be voting Obama anyway. 

With regards to an Anti-McCain surprise, Peter Brimelow has speculated that the Democrats might open up the POW/MIA can of worms and come out with hard evidence that backs up all those rumors circulating on the Internet that McCain’s war record isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be and that he might have sold out Vietnam POWs as a senator.

Sydney Schanberg has done some serious research on this subject for The Nation. As he details, McCain acted in a rather bizarre, cruel manner towards the wives of some POWs, browbeating one in Congress. Still, as Schanberg all but admits, though his research raises many questions about McCain’s war record—there seems to be more to the story—it’s still impossible to make any firm conclusions (outside the fact that McCain has an insane temper, which we already knew). 

My guess is that the Democrats won’t touch the issue. They seem to be winning anyway and thus there’s no reason to risk slandering a war veteran. Moreover, making allegations or insinuations about McCain’s record would mark such a dramatic rhetorical shift away from “John’s an American hero, but…” that the public might get whiplash and distrust the Dems more than they already do.

I still have a sense that there?s going be another bombshell in October, and perhaps one completely unrelated to what I?ve discussed above. It?s only a matter of time.