Thou Dost Protest a Bit Too Much: The Book Version

I just received this email from Howard Dean and the Democratic Party.

This morning our team here sent this email to a group of dedicated supporters, but I'm sending it to everyone I know. In 2004, the media let right-wing crackpots like Jerome Corsi spread lies about John Kerry. Now Corsi is publishing another hit piece attacking Barack Obama. This year I'm drawing the line -- we're not going to let Corsi and the Republicans get away with it again. Scroll down to check out Corsi's track record of ideologically driven lies and conspiracy theories, then sign up for the DNC Rapid Response Team and help keep these dirty tricks from ruining another election:

Now, Dean is referring to Jerome Corsi and his new book Obama Nation. Now, I haven't read the book and I know little about Jerome Corsi. Thus, I am in no position to defend him. That said, Dean is the latest in a long line of liberals and Democrats to scream with righteous indignation about this book. It seems liberals are lining up to condemn the book. One after another folks are lining up to condemn this book.

This sort of dance is constant as it is obvious. What's amazing of course is how partisans only notice "lies" when they are directed at their brethren, not the other way. The same folks that are now condemning Corsi were strangely silent when such dubious authors as Richard Clarke, Scott McClellan, and Joe Wilson made all sorts of wild and dubious allegations against the White House. I certainly didn't see the likes of Howard Dean and Media Matters condemn Joe Wilson even though he has largely been discredited. Scott McClellan is largely a hero in those circles even though his allegations are no less dubious than Corsi's.

Conservatives are not immune from such one sided righteous indignation as well. Wilson, Clarke and McClellan are the subject of right wing scorn. You won't see much concern about any number of dubious statements from the likes of Ann Coulter.

The problem with such one sided attacks of righteous indignation is that they lack all credibility. Only a really bitter partisan really believes that truth and lies have anything to do with ideology. Liberals are no more or less prone to lying than conservatives. Lying is inherently a personal flaw. That flaw has absolutely nothing to do with ideology. I certainly believe that someone is misguided if they believe in something like universal health care, but I don't believe that makes them inherently more likely to lie.

The likes of Howard Dean and Media Matters along with many in the right blogosphere see it differently.