Mary Matalin reportedly contradicts herself on role in publishing Obama smear book
SUMMARY: Republican strategist Mary Matalin, head of Threshold Editions, which published Jerome Corsi's falsehood-laden book The Obama Nation, reportedly wrote in an email to Slate.com's Timothy Noah that her role at Threshold is "more akin to a consultant relative to the issue of potential interest among political readers." But according to her own website, Matalin "runs Threshold, a new conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster" [emphasis added].
According to an August 15 update to an article by Slate.com's Timothy Noah about Republican strategist Mary Matalin's involvement in Jerome Corsi's falsehood-laden book The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality (Threshold Editions), Matalin wrote in an email to Noah that she does not "deal with any mechanics (like print runs, reprints, financial relationship with authors), or for that matter, editing of the Threshold books," and added that her role at Threshold is "more akin to a consultant relative to the issue of potential interest among political readers." But contrary to her reported claim to having more of "a consultant" role at Threshold, according to her own website, Matalin "runs Threshold, a new conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster" [emphasis added]. And, while she reportedly told Noah that she advises Threshold on "the issue of potential interest among political readers," according to an August 12 New York Times article, Matalin said that Obama Nation "was not designed to be, and does not set out to be, a political book." Rather than being a "political book," Matalin reportedly told the Times that Obama Nation, which has been widely discredited by many media figures, is "a piece of scholarship, and a good one at that."
From Matalin's email to Noah, published in an August 15 update to Noah's August 13 article on Slate.com:
Appreciate your taking the time to talk about Obama Nation in your column. I sent your inquiry regarding future printings to Simon & Schuster because such issues are not mine to decide. I am sorry you did not receive a response. My title is somewhat misleading, but it is the one the publishing industry uses. I do not deal with any mechanics (like print runs, reprints, financial relationship with authors), or for that matter, editing of the Threshold books. I am more akin to a consultant relative to the issue of potential interest among political readers.
From the August 12 New York Times article:
Mr. Corsi, who has over the years also written critically about Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama's probable Republican opponent, said he supported the Constitution Party presidential nominee, Chuck Baldwin, and had not been in touch with McCain aides. He called his reporting on Mr. Obama, which he stands by, "investigative," not prosecutorial.
Ms. Matalin said in an interview that the book "was not designed to be, and does not set out to be, a political book," calling it, rather, "a piece of scholarship, and a good one at that." She said she was unaware of efforts to link it to any anti-Obama advertising.
She does run it. Except when she doesn't.
US News and World Reports has a great article on this today. It has more background on Matalin and her negative politics.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/08/18/mary-matalin-jerome-corsi-and-the-gop-political-hit-job-disguised-as-a-book.html
Okay.. I've got a new one to add to WITH.
It's WC. (who cares?)
What Matalin's role at Threshold has to do with any conservative misinformation is beyond me.
What's next - taking a local Sunday afternoon radio show that is self funded and make a big deal out of a very minor author canceling an appearance? :-)
Mr. L,
You have a point seeing as how Hillary started MMFA and it is being funded by Soros. ;-)
.. and the hole in yours... but that's beside the point. :-)
ps. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I loved fourth grade.
Okay.. I've got a new one to add to WITH.
It's WC. (who cares?)
That's what thinking people ask themselves every time AA posts something here - who cares?
Matalin is obviously very involved in the production of low-grade Republican propaganda.The GOP is a shameless corrupt cult.
And, for the record, AnotherAmerican, a member of this cult, thinks that non-members shouldn't be concerned about it.
Matalin is obviously very involved in the production of low-grade Republican propaganda.
Low-grade Republican propaganda is the only grade they offer.
Rather than being a "political book," Matalin reportedly told the Times that Obama Nation, which has been widely discredited by many media figures, is "a piece of scholarship, and a good one at that."
That's the first time I've ever seen the word "scholarship" used as a synonym for s**t.
:-)
WZ, are you Huntington Beach Lefty in disguise? Your posts here are certainly in that league, biting sarcasm, clever humour; I like all of them!
Thanks. And I only post at MMFA under one name. Huntington Beach Lefty is someone else.
Hey Pit, I used to be HBL, but changed my name when my account got screwed up during the site maintenance around the Secular Winter Holiday.
WZ and I might be related. We both get a little impatient with the trolls who suffer under the delusion that their repetitive BS deserves polite consideration as serious discussion.
After a certain point, all you can do is point out what clowns they are, and be entertained by their crying about the name-calling and intolerance.
After a certain point, all you can do is point out what clowns they are, and be entertained by their crying about the name-calling and intolerance.
Agreed. To their credit, posters like Jeter and Tommy at least bring something to the table - the trolls, not so much.
Her relationship as consultant is probably similar to Obama's relationship to Bill Ayers.....never discussing policy matters for certain.
Hey Barak, he started your first campaign and you served on a board with him, his relatives as chairman of the Chicago Anneburg Challenge Project.
"Although the press has been notably lax about pursuing the matter, the full story of the Obama-Ayers relationship calls the truth of Obama’s account seriously into question. When Obama made his first run for political office, articles in both the Chicago Defender and the Hyde Park Herald featured among his qualifications his position as chairman of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a foundation where Ayers was a founder and guiding force. Obama assumed the Annenberg board chairmanship only months before his first run for office, and almost certainly received the job at the behest of Bill Ayers. During Obama’s time as Annenberg board chairman, Ayers’s own education projects received substantial funding. Indeed, during its first year, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge struggled with significant concerns about possible conflicts of interest. With a writ to aid Chicago’s public schools, the Annenberg challenge played a deeply political role in Chicago’s education wars, and as Annenberg board chairman, Obama clearly aligned himself with Ayers’s radical views on education issues. With Obama heading up the board and Ayers heading up the other key operating body of the Annenberg Challenge, the two would necessarily have had a close working relationship for years (therefore “exchanging ideas on a regular basis”). So when Ayers and Dorhn hosted that kickoff for the first Obama campaign, it was not a random happenstance, but merely further evidence of a close and ongoing political partnership. Of course, all of this clearly contradicts Obama’s dismissal of the significance of his relationship with Ayers."
Obama says, "I hardly know Ayers.", and Mrs. Carville says, "I don't edit material."
I nominate you as chairman of the bored. Ayers has been sedately involved in academia for years and years. Pretty lame stuff to still be trying to dredge up any interest in this topic.
I'll clear things up for you. Barack Obama, despite knowing many people, has no interest in terrorism except prosecuting terrorists; he's not a Muslim although there's nothing wrong with being one, and he has spent his career in trying to help those who work hard for a living to have a better future. If you're not on board with that, and instead like to play these stupid games, I pity you.
Obama says, "I hardly know Ayers.", and Mrs. Carville says, "I don't edit material."
And Nothing-To-Be-Proud-Of Conservative posts useless drivel (like the above crap) without citing his source......
What about my urge for the for me to have full access to information? Your kind of government would restrict that via the Fairness Doctrine, would it not?
Hardly. The Fairness Doctrine assured that both sides of an issue are discussed. The system we have now (thanks to reagan - the "Great Communicator" - only presents one side; the lies.
lazywriter,
But who decides which are the two sides to be discussed? A bureaucrat or a freedom loving consumer and searcher for information?
It's funny how many people don't seem to be interested in Obama's past.
I guess they don't care who is in office as long as they are willing to steal from the rich and crush the "evil" corporations
Why doesn't MMFA just give up. Only liberal idiots listen to what they say.
LOL
Yet here you are.
Call your sponsor, BC. And please, don't try to drive anywhere.
Have a good support group around you for the next few months, especially on Election Night.
Nobody who's winning ever asks the other side to give up. You're a loser crying "Uncle", but you're still a good human being.Don't do anything foolish. Once you free yourself from the grip of the bottle and your conservative ideology,you may find that life is worth living.
Why doesn't MMFA just give up.
And only right-wing idiots and trolls end questions with a period.....
Try and get it together BCVB. I need my special stereopticon glasses to bring you into focus.
How fast do you need to go to aquire a 26 second time dilation?
Well, I guess we'll just have to take her at her word, then.
Mary59 and minniepearl,
Imagine if McCain said he had alot of friends who were in John Hagee's church, had the pastor host his first ever campaign fundraiser, served on as chairman on the pastor's board to fund innovative religious evangelism and then told the press that they had no right to look at information related to the board's activities? Imagine then that the left would have no interest in pursuing this further because it was 'pretty lame stuff'.
The media, including MM(fvl), would be all over this, wanting to find out why they connected, would those factors still be in play and how would this affect his presidency.
The fact is, this is happening regarding Obama & Ayers, a known terrorist who as late as 2001 had not regretted his founding of the Weatherman. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/ (nice picture by the way)
A part of the story is found here http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTgwZTVmN2QyNzk2MmUxMzA5OTg0ODZlM2Y2OGI0NDM=
If this is boring or a silly board game to you, shame and pity on you.
lazywriter,
Have you looked at the list of topics that Media Matters (for very little) deigns worthy of their coverage? Redundancy doesn't seem to quite strong enough of a term.
Perhaps the real import, or mitigating fact, or questionable notion is that he teaches at a renowned University... somebody knows or does not know something.
Devils advocate query: if you knew someone who deliberately lied to Congress, shredded vital documents of extreme national security importance, and apparently orchestrated illegal drugs-for-guns deals with our Sworn Enemies of State would you disavow your association with _that_ person?
Can you say Pundit?
I would suggest you learn a bit about William Ayers and the Weatherman.
Wow, how did you learn so much about Sandy Berger!?!
so, you are saying you are merely a cynical partisan when it comes to who gets a pass on violating the principles of our Constitution and the ideals of the
American Way of Liff.
to each his own, and always look on the bright side of life.
... considering that Sandy Berger's appearances are rare these days, guess again.
oh, you forgot to mention whether you would disavow and condemn the actions of those who, despite the ribbons they wear on their uniform, flaunt their arrogant disdain for the American people.
If this is boring or a silly board game to you, shame and pity on you
Anyone who addresses me as Miniepearl and then expects me to take their comments seriously needs help. When you want to speak with adults YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE ONE!
Good luck!
I am fairly certain (since I heard him speak them) that Corsi uttered words stating that Obama had submitted a forged document in the process of Obama's submission of legal documentation to run for the office of President. I assume that Corsi also wrote this allegation...
Question: Why should not Corsi and Matlin be held legally accountable for deliberate slander and, presumably, libel?