Does it matter if a president lies? It mattered in the case of Richard Nixon, not so much with Bill Clinton. Perhaps as a culture, we are moving toward … what am I saying? Of course this is a postmodern country, and Jack Cashill agrees.
The bestselling author and investigative journalist has sniffed out an explosive story: The president has deceived his reading public by claiming to have written "Dreams from My Father," the book that sent the liberal media into spasms of ecstasy and propelled Obama to cult-like status. Indeed, "Dreams" seems to have relegated titles like "Profiles in Courage" to the remainder tables, metaphorically speaking.
"Dreams" purports to be a memoir of Obama's background, which has come into serious question. Cashill read the book, noticed that Obama's writing efforts before and after "Dreams" were pedestrian – and that's putting it kindly. Taking his bloodhound skills farther down the road, Cashill then read a book by Bill Ayers – Obama's problematic friend and terrorist – his 2001 memoir, "Fugitive Days."
Closely examining the text "backed by the existing computer forensics," Cashill deduced that Ayers contributed heavily to "Dreams."
The result of all this writing intrigue is Cashill's own book on the subject, "Deconstructing Obama: The Life, Loves, and Letters of America's First Postmodern President."
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One of many things I appreciate about Cashill is his skillful handling of both the big picture and nuance. The use of the word "postmodern" in the book's subtitle is terrific, because it perfectly illustrates exactly who this president is and who he is governing. Liberalism, with its relentless drive to impose its worldview on unsuspecting folks, has effectively blanketed the culture in a humanistic worldview. Kudos to Cashill for pointing this out.
In "Deconstructing Obama," Cashill also points out that Obama himself, through the use of an "apocryphal biography," contributed to the "birther" movement.
Early on, writing about Ayers (and by extension, Obama), Cashill makes an astute point: "Like many on the left, he rejects the possibility of an objective, universal truth, either the 'modern' scientific perspective of the Enlightenment or the God-centered perspective of the Judeo-Christian tradition. In its stead, he argues for a more personalized reality, one whose 'narrative' we each 'construct' as we journey along."
Do you see the importance of internalizing this? It means that men like Obama interpret, for example, the Constitution as an evolving document, and presidents like him stock the courts with like-minded ideologues. Perhaps it's a bit of a lame comparison, but it reminds one of the judge in "Dirty Harry" when, upon having a serial killer delivered, throws out all the evidence due to alleged trampling of the killer's "rights!"
In "Deconstructing Obama," Cashill makes many such points, giving the reader a very clear picture of the man who occupies the Oval Office. At one time, it mattered to the American people whether a president lied. When Bill Clinton went a long way in sweeping away that reality, it paved the way for an even more diabolical governing body.
Cashill notes Obama's brazen stance, the hallmark of a narcissist, when telling a group of Virginia teachers in 2008: "I've written two books. I actually wrote them myself."
One gets the feeling that the ego required to run for the highest office often takes over. Remember when Gary Hart challenged reporters to follow him around?
Cashill also manages to make the seemingly tedious study of words and writing read like a political thriller. In particular, pay attention to his chapter entitled "Vichy," in which he provides the fascinating detail of sniffing out Obama's "co-author."
Commenting on detailed analyses of "Dreams" and "Fugitive Days," Cashill writes, "The similarity between the two books on nondialogue sentences was striking."
The point of all this should be painfully obvious: If a candidate/president would blatantly lie about writing his own books and would bask in the almost-embarrassing praise from the left … what else would he lie about?
In point of fact, lying from such a figure would be routine, so that a regular citizen of the U.S. would have to daily dissect whatever the president had to say on a particular day to determine if in fact he, the president, is making good decisions for the country.
As Cashill points out: "Whether or not Barack Obama actually wrote 'Audacity of Hope,' the content of the book matters. Those millions of Americans who read it or read about it had good reason to think of it as Obama's governing blueprint. After two years of the Obama presidency, however, the reader can see the book more clearly for what it is – a masterful strategic feint."
In "Deconstructing Obama," Cashill also quotes Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, who said of Obama, "He's just too talented to do what ordinary people do."
This kind of delusion is dangerous for the country. Thank goodness for actual writers like Jack Cashill, who will dig out the truth for the rest of us.
Jack Cashill has put the real story out there. The people are now challenged to do something with it. The real question is, do enough people care?