Obama’s Kerry Moment

Does this remind you of anyone, like John Kerry for instance? Barack Obama’s autobiography contains self-puffery and invented events. Kerry made of himself a great war hero, beyond whatever credit is deserved. Obama makes of himself a civil rights crusader, beyond whatever actual racial solidarity he experienced.

The Chicago Tribune reported last Sunday, after 40 interviews from Hawaii to Indonesia:

Several of his oft-recited stories may not have happened in the way he has recounted them. Some seem to make Obama look better in the retelling, others appear to exaggerate his outward struggles over issues of race, or simply skim over some of the most painful, private moments of his life.

Last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune did for Barack Obama’s autobiography what the major media failed to do with John Kerry’s, examine its veracity. The over 60 credible Swiftboater witnesses to Kerry’s exaggerations and lies were castigated by the major media. The MSM isn’t attacking the Chicago Tribune for revealing untruths by a favorite, but like with Kerry’s, the finding of false self-creation by Obama is being largely ignored by major media.

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen recognizes, “He may be manipulating the facts in order to wrap raw ambition in the gauze of a larger cause. Sheer ambition is no longer tolerated in American public life.”

On the contrary, it is, at least if the candidate is a liberal Kerry or Obama. (Interestingly, self-hagiographers arm-in-arm attacking Sam Fox for helping fund the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth debunking of Kerry.)

John Kerry refused to come clean, or apologize for attacking Vietnam veterans conduct and morality, which incensed Vietnam veterans. Whether Blacks will be upset with Obama is unlikely. Obama has not attacked Blacks, and his hagiographic indiscretions were committed over a decade ago. Obama can Obamasize himself by admitting to relatively harmless youthful self-puffery, or he can diminish himself and his supporters by Kerryizing.