Politico: Anti-Obama book to be released by conservative press that published Swift Boat smear book

Summary: David Freddoso's upcoming book, The Case Against Barack Obama, will be published by Regnery, which reportedly "likens the goal of [the Obama] book to that of 'Unfit for Command,' " a widely discredited book containing numerous false and baseless attacks on John Kerry's military service.

Reporting on the forthcoming book The Case Against Barack Obama (Regnery, 2008), authored by former Human Events writer and National Review Online staff reporter David Freddoso, a June 23 Politico article stated that Marjory Ross, the president and publisher of Regnery Publishing, "likens the goal of Freddoso's book to that of 'Unfit for Command' " (Regnery, August 2004), which was co-authored by Swift Vets and POWs for Truth co-founder John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi. Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry -- which Regnery touts as among its best-selling publications -- contains false and baseless attacks on Kerry's military service, as documented by Media Matters for America, and in numerous media reports. Media Matters also extensively documented numerous falsehoods put forth elsewhere by O'Neill and other members of Swift Vets and POWs for Truth (previously known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth).

Regnery, which describes itself as "the nation's leading conservative publisher" and "central to the conservative movement today," has also published books by Dinesh D'Souza, David Horowitz, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, G. Gordon Liddy, Michelle Malkin, Oliver North, and Newt Gingrich.

From the June 23 Politico article:

The same publisher that distributed the 2004 best-seller that took aim at John Kerry's Vietnam service is planning a summer release of what's scheduled to be the first critical book on Barack Obama.

Conservative journalist David Freddoso's "The Case Against Barack Obama" will offer "a comprehensive, factual look at Obama," according to Regnery Publishing president and publisher Marjory Ross.

But the book's subtitle makes clear its perspective: "The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate."

Ross contends that the mainstream media has offered insufficient scrutiny of Obama and likens the goal of Freddoso's book to that of "Unfit for Command," the scathing assessment of Kerry's war record that rocketed to No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list.

—K.H.