By Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star columnist

Once upon a time, during my gullible childhood years, I believed a person had to be well reasoned to be an author. That it took unique qualifications — a special calling, even — to write books. But I’ve matured, and have slagheap of chick lit as evidence to the contrary.

But no author besmirches the literary calling quite like Jerome R. Corsi, whose latest treatise, “The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality,” has managed to debut at the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list.

You may recall the name. Corsi co-authored — or shall we say, dredged up false allegations for — “Unfit for Command,” the 2004 book that questioned the Navy record of then-presidential candidate John Kerry.

If you’re wondering how this prolific writer finds his inspiration, consider what he told The New York Times: “The goal is to defeat Obama. I don’t want Obama to be in office.”

OK. That’s direct enough. But how about sticking to the truth this time? No, that is not Corsi’s way. This book is simply an attack.

Yes, there are plenty of plenty of scribblers on the left who play rough with Republicans, too. But Corsi is in his own category. He has never shrunk from an opportunity to slander. A few of his more widely available quotes:

He once described Islam as “a worthless, dangerous Satanic religion.” And he opined, “Boy buggering in both Islam and Catholicism is OK with the pope as long as it isn’t reported by the liberal press.”

And he has taken crude swipes at the Clintons, remarking, “...ask why HELLary couldn’t keep BJ Bill satisfied? Not lesbo or anything, is she?”

The statements tell you all you need to know about Corsi, though he later tried to discount them as attempts at humor.

Corsi also helped pen the story of the Minutemen, that band of wannabe border patrol agents who see themselves as integral to stopping unauthorized migration between the U.S. and Mexico. “Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders” was co-authored by and partly about Minutemen leader Jim Gilchrist.

In the book, Corsi manages to cast the Catholic Church’s theologically based efforts to aid immigrants as an insurrection against the U.S. government. One chapter, “The Mess in Mexico: Poverty, Oil, NAFTA and the Threat to American Sovereignty,” is a common theme for Corsi: the idea that the U.S.A. that we love is on the verge of imploding.

Another Corsi opus, “The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada,” discloses a far-flung conspiracy to reconfigure Canada, the U.S. and Mexico into one giant nation.

Corsi is adept at taking snippets of truth, and weaving them with alarmist language that panders to the fears of Americans beaten down by global competition and a rapidly changing economy. In other words, he’s playing to paranoia — exactly the type of dialogue voters do not need right now.

Oddly enough, the book’s attempts to smear Obama are lame and over-exposed this far into the presidential campaign.

Yes, Obama does salute the U.S. flag. Yes, he has admitted to smoking pot as a young man, like many solid citizens of his generation. He no longer partakes in recreational drug use, contrary to what Corsi implies. Finally, Obama is Christian, not a Muslim.

And, yes, compared to the rather bland stage presence of Sen. John McCain, Obama has a rock star gleam. Such charisma is neither reason to elect Obama president, nor is it a reason to dismiss him as a candidate.

Voters, whether they identify as Democrats and Republicans, deserve better than Corsi’s brand of slime. For Americans who want to learn more about the candidates, a better place to start would be to read how each man has written about his own life.

Pick up McCain’s “Faith of My Fathers” and Obama’s “Dreams from My Father” — and, please, skip this “best seller.”

To reach Mary Sanchez, send e-mail to .