So Jake Tapper is now accusing Barack Obama's campaign of "rewriting history" in its refutation of smear author Jerome Corsi. Tapper does qualify his allegation by admitting that he holds Obama to a higher standard than Corsi, who he says peddling fiction.
But the thrust of Tapper's piece is that Obama's campaign is being less than truthful in its refutation. The problem is that Tapper's re-refutation leaves a lot to be desired, at least if you're interested in the truth.
Tapper mentions four specific problems, none of which are terribly consequential, but if he has a point at all, it's only about one of the four (whether or not Obama challenged Alice Palmer), and even that one is mostly a debate over semantics.
My favorite example that Tapper cites is his first:
But the Obama campaign got a little greedy in their refutations.
First of all, on the front of the response, is a labeled stamped “Brought to you by Bush/Cheney Attack Machine.”
Corsi has actually called for the impeachment of President Bush. Corsi’s a 9/11 Truther who thinks the Bush administration is covering up what “really” happened at the World Trade Center. It’s not fair to blame this nasty screed on the President.
I think Tapper would take this one back if he could. That label is a clear reference to Mary Matalin, the former chief aide to Dick Cheney whose publishing imprint is responsible for the Corsi book's publication. It has nothing to do with Corsi himself.
As the publisher, Matalin clearly "brought" the book to print. She's also a part of the Bush-Cheney attack machine. No question about it.
Anyway, on balance Tapper's piece is mostly a yawner. But since it's wrong, I thought it was worth mentioning.
© Jed Lewison