The McCompany you keep
John McCain says he's standing by the endorsement of controversial televangelist John Hagee.
As usual, the "maverick" wants to have it both ways. He courts the pastor's supporters for votes, but doesn't want his alignment with such a fringe bigot to soil his appeal to moderate, reasonable people.
McCain's statement:
Well I think it's important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes. And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagee's spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel. That does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues. I don't have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy. They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions."And who is Hagee?
Here are some of his greatest hits:
Hagee on Hurricane Katrina
"All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that." From NPR's Fresh Air, Sept. 18, 2006Conservatives Catholics have a problem with Hagee — From The Washington Post.
But Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement Thursday that Hagee has written extensively in negative ways about the Catholic Church, "calling it 'The Great Whore,' an 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ,' and a 'false cult system.' "So do liberal Catholics:
On Wednesday, Senator John McCain was “honored” to receive the endorsement of the Evangelical pastor John Hagee. Pastor Hagee is well known for his anti-Catholic rhetoric such as past suggestions that the Catholic Church gave Adolf Hitler inspiration and support for the Holocaust. In a letter to John McCain’s campaign, Catholics United is asking the Senator to distance himself from Pastor Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments and reject the endorsement.Hagee on the Holocaust:
In "Jerusalem Countdown: A Prelude To war" Hagee has stated that Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves by rebelling against God and that the Holocaust was God's way of forcing Jews to move to Israel where, Hagee predicts according to his interpretation of Biblical scripture, they will be mostly killed in the apocalyptic Mideast conflict Hagee's new lobbying group seems to be working to provoke.The media has covered Louis Farrakhan's support of Barrack Obama quite extensively. Unlike, McCain, Obama rejected the support outright.
McCain wants to accept Hagee's on the one hand and disagree a bit on the other (without mentioning any specifics as to where he disagrees - just a vague "some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said...")
Seeing as how McCain is the beltway media's golden boy and appears on Tim Russert's show practically every Sunday, it will be interesting to see if Russert will spend anywhere near the amount of time pressing McCain as he did with Obama in the Democratic debate.
Labels: McCain, religious right

















