Thursday, August 14, 2008
Anatomy of the Smear.
In the beginning, the McCain campaign looked likely to be conducted in a gentlemanly fashion. This does not now appear to be the case. The latest affront to decency committed by the GOP is this new book about Barack Obama: "Obama Nation" (don't you just love puns?). The book's author, Jerome Corsi, poses as an investigative journalist and attempts to lend the veneer of plausibility to the blizzard of false claims directed at the person (not the policies) of Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle.
In his book, he cites spurious sources to back up his bizarre opinions, and most of his "sources" are other right-wing bloggers. In short, he is lead vocalist but he has backup singers and they are all singing the same tune. It is all about the appearance of legitimacy.
It is an interesting technique the smear mongers have developed:
[1]. Have some clown like Corsi, (of Swiftboat Veterans for Truth fame) write a book in which all the outrageous claims about Obama and his wife are analyzed with an eye towards creating doubt in the often confused mind of the American voter.
[2]. Get a GOP member highly placed in the publishing industry to publish it as a nonfiction book without regard for its journalistic accuracy.
[3]. Rich GOP members order many pallets of this book, which they will later return for a restock fee (If they even get shipped which is unlikely, often a purchase order will suffice for the NY Times). These hefty book orders trigger a New York Times bestseller classification.
[4]. The public thinks that many people have bought copies, mistaking the bestseller classification as an indication of actual relevance, so they buy copies too.
[5]. Doubt generated in the minds of the few that take the time to read it combine with the confused sheep mentality of the voting booth. Rumor has now become, for a brief time, fact; it will be disproved in its entirety AFTER the election.
It is quite ingenious really. Inexpensive, limited in its possibility of repercussion, and if the 2004 election is any example, very effective. Libel suits filed against the publisher or author will take months to get to court, and by that time the election is over; unreasonable doubt has swung indecision away from the target candidate, and back to the alternative: the most likely not-Bush that the GOP can find; in this case, John McCain.
Too bad, about John, I kinda liked the guy, but there is no way in hell I could vote for him now.
In his book, he cites spurious sources to back up his bizarre opinions, and most of his "sources" are other right-wing bloggers. In short, he is lead vocalist but he has backup singers and they are all singing the same tune. It is all about the appearance of legitimacy.
It is an interesting technique the smear mongers have developed:
[1]. Have some clown like Corsi, (of Swiftboat Veterans for Truth fame) write a book in which all the outrageous claims about Obama and his wife are analyzed with an eye towards creating doubt in the often confused mind of the American voter.
[2]. Get a GOP member highly placed in the publishing industry to publish it as a nonfiction book without regard for its journalistic accuracy.
[3]. Rich GOP members order many pallets of this book, which they will later return for a restock fee (If they even get shipped which is unlikely, often a purchase order will suffice for the NY Times). These hefty book orders trigger a New York Times bestseller classification.
[4]. The public thinks that many people have bought copies, mistaking the bestseller classification as an indication of actual relevance, so they buy copies too.
[5]. Doubt generated in the minds of the few that take the time to read it combine with the confused sheep mentality of the voting booth. Rumor has now become, for a brief time, fact; it will be disproved in its entirety AFTER the election.
It is quite ingenious really. Inexpensive, limited in its possibility of repercussion, and if the 2004 election is any example, very effective. Libel suits filed against the publisher or author will take months to get to court, and by that time the election is over; unreasonable doubt has swung indecision away from the target candidate, and back to the alternative: the most likely not-Bush that the GOP can find; in this case, John McCain.
Too bad, about John, I kinda liked the guy, but there is no way in hell I could vote for him now.
