James Corsi, The author of an anti-Obama book was detained in Kenya and deported. He may (or may not) be a crackpot and his book may be full of lies, but this response looks a lot more like government censorship than a case of, “I may disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Here was a chance for Obama to prove that he means it when, as his web site says, “Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.”
OK, he’s not president yet but he probably could have some influence in Kenya anyway. Here was a chance for him to call up the President of Kenya and say, “I appreciate that you don’t like this Corsi guy any more than I do, but that’s not how we do things.” He could provide a sample of the diplomacy that he plans to use with leaders of Iraq and other countries to convince Kenya to let the guy be heard. And he would come out looking to Americans like a true defender of civil liberties, allaying those suspicions of those who fear his administration will be one of reprisals against dissidents.