In which Trump chumps out, Corsi's book debuts to the sound of crickets, Farah gets his lawsuit pants on, and the Social Security Administration says :P.
And boy weren't we just sorry to be deprived of that.
After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency. This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country. I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector.
That may be more true than he'd like to admit. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza notes that:
Trump's hand was likely forced by NBC's decision to renew the "Celebrity Apprentice" for another season. That meant that Trump had to choose between his interest in presidential politics and his career as a reality television star. He, not surprisingly, chose the latter.
The great and thunderous noise you heard Monday was not the Endeavour taking off on its final voyage, but the sound of millions of Tea Partiers crying that God had forsaken them. Also perhaps some political cartoonists. Not so the Republican political strategists, who, as polls help reveal, are doubtlessly pleased as punch to no longer have a fake-tanned albatross wrapped about their necks.
Speaking of albatrosses, World Net Daily's most recent one fell into the drink on Tuesday, but not with so much of a splash as a plop. That would probably be because Jerome "Dr. Feelgood" Corsi's book, "Where's the Birth Certificate?", had its titular question answered about three weeks ago, and what little remains to justify the book's printing seems to have made as much of an impact as a rotten apple on the side of a battleship.
Not that no one noticed. As always, World Net Daily's editor in chief, Joseph "Mr. Mustache" Farah, was happy to put himself in traction by patting himself on the back.
When WND's reporting alone, supported by some talk-radio questions, raised significant doubts over Obama's eligibility, the news media misrepresented the widespread concern.
They claimed everyone doubting Obama's eligibility -- those they dubbed dismissively and derisively as "birthers" -- believed Obama was born in Kenya.
...
Only when "Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case That Barack Obama Is Not Eligible To Be President by Jerome Corsi hit No. 1 on the best-sellers list weeks before its release (officially today), did Obama finally relent to the public pressure to show Americans, his bosses, what he claims is his long-form birth certificate.
As expected, the establishment news media abandoned its watchdog role once again and accepted, without question or review, the document as valid.
It is not -- as Corsi will demonstrate to the country in the coming days.
And, to his credit, Corsi did try to do so. Unfortunately, he seems to have seriously misunderstood the evil, liberal forces against him. That secret Liberal Sean Hannity canceled an interview with him. Then FOX Business did a total hatchet job on him.
Then those jokers in the White House had the utter temerity to not only laugh it off, but, as our friends at Oh For Goodness Sake revealed, actually offer Birth Certificate mugs and t-shirts with a donation to the 2012 campaign. My God, what kind of cruel world do we live in when a usurper President under fire by patriotic Americans doesn't have the basic decency to be afraid of the truth?!?!?!?11
To this date not one complementary review of the "Where's the Birth Certificate" has been written by any major Conservative periodical not directly associated with World Net Daily. I suspect the folks at the National Review are drawing lots to see who has to dirty their synapses with this chore as we speak. (Our partial look at it can be found here.)
There was one further amusement to be had, though. Esquire Magazine ran a humorous "news" item, a'la Drudge, which claimed that the book was going to be recalled and pulped. It also claimed that Farah went "rip s**t" when the actual Birth Certificate was unveiled, and unloaded on Corsi over the phone.
When asked if he had any plans to publish a corrected version of the book, (Farah) said cryptically, "There is no book." Farah declined to comment on his discussions of the matter with Corsi.
...
"He called up Corsi and really tore him a new one," says the source. "I mean, we'll do anything to hurt Obama, and erase his memory, but we don't want to look like f**king idiots, you know? Look, at the end of the day, bulls**t is bulls**t."
If only WND's editorial department understood this! However, they were too busy being offended at the article, and answering phone calls for media sources who, not scrolling down far enough to see the "humor" tag on the piece, thought it was real, to get the joke. So they're suing, instead.
WASHINGTON -- The founder and chief executive officer of WND has decided to pursue an aggressive legal challenge of what he calls Esquire's "libelous smear" in which the magazine's executive editor published a completely fictional article claiming Jerome Corsi's best-selling book -- "Where's the Birth Certificate?" -- was being pulled from the shelves and destroyed and that book purchasers were being offered refunds.
"I have concluded with attorneys who say we have an excellent chance of winning a lawsuit or lawsuits for the reckless disregard for the truth demonstrated by Mark Warren, Esquire and the Hearst Corporation in this matter," said Farah. "Personally, I think we should set our sights on taking ownership of Esquire. I think that would be a fair settlement. Obviously the magazine is in dire need of professional management."
Now there's the kettle calling the pot black! But further amusement could be found further down:
"I don't like to sue people or organizations," said Farah. "It's not what I do.
Oh no? Tell Newsweek Magazine that, Joey.
I note that this article has been widely disseminated on the Internet. While the damage to my reputation can scarcely be mitigated by an apology and a retraction, I recognize that demanding that action is a requirement of most jurisdictions that might adjudicate a case of this kind.
However, I reserve all legal rights to pursue adjudication of this matter should you fail to comply with this demand.
Copies of this demand letter are being mailed to you and to my legal counsel.
Dare we say this is... developing?
Speaking of developing, the story of dueling birther polls is ongoing. As reported by our friends at Obama Conspiracy Theories, the numbers of Birthistanis who had their nationality changed by adoption into the Land of Common Sense may have gotten a post-Osama bump.
"64 percent said they "always knew President Obama was born in the US." Nine percent said they'd had some doubts but that once they'd seen the long-form birth certificate they were "satisfied that he was born in the US," for a total of 73 percent. Twenty percent said they "still had some doubts about where he was born," and 6 percent weren't sure."
So that's about 1 in 3 birthers who said they were convinced by the long form.
Better news than the last PPP Poll in question, at any rate. Be sure to keep an eye out for even more questionable data in the future as we move further from the original event!
And, finally, speaking of our friends at Obama Conspiracy Theories, the good Doctor (who was name-dropped three times in Corsi's book, btw) has an excellent post on the President's Social Security Number controversy, which may have finally been solved by the SSA this last week, but still not quite understood by the people pushing the issue. However, you may have to look away from the monitor at certain points to understand how they've failed to understand it.
In closing, we have Les Kinsolving, World Net Daily's man at the White House, on the reveal of the Birth Certificate. It is clearly a crime that this fine, upstanding newsman doesn't get called on more often.
See you next week for more dispatches from Birtherstan!
