From columnist Frank Rich in today’s (5/4/08) New York Times:
“Mr. McCain says he does not endorse any of Mr. Hagee’s calumnies, any more than Barack Obama endorses Mr. Wright’s. But those who try to give Mr. McCain a pass for his embrace of a problematic preacher have a thin case. It boils down to this: Mr. McCain was not a parishioner for 20 years at Mr. Hagee’s church.
That defense implies, incorrectly, that Mr. McCain was a passive recipient of this bigot’s endorsement. In fact, by his own account, Mr. McCain sought out Mr. Hagee, who is perhaps best known for trying to drum up a pre-emptive “holy war” with Iran. (This preacher’s rantings may tell us more about Mr. McCain’s policy views than Mr. Wright’s tell us about Mr. Obama’s.) Even after Mr. Hagee’s Catholic bashing bubbled up in the mainstream media, Mr. McCain still did not reject and denounce him, as Mr. Obama did an unsolicited endorser, Louis Farrakhan, at the urging of Tim Russert and Hillary Clinton. Mr. McCain instead told George Stephanopoulos two Sundays ago that while he condemns any “anti-anything” remarks by Mr. Hagee, he is still “glad to have his endorsement.”
I wonder if Mr. McCain would have given the same answer had Mr. Stephanopoulos confronted him with the graphic video of the pastor in full “Great Whore” glory. But Mr. McCain didn’t have to fear so rude a transgression. Mr. Hagee’s videos have never had the same circulation on television as Mr. Wright’s. A sonorous white preacher spouting venom just doesn’t have the telegenic zing of a theatrical black man.”
Read the entire column. This is good stuff and reflects the point I’ve been trying to make about the absurdity of guilt-by-association politics.
5 Comments
We’re all a bunch of racist hypocrites in the US. That’s the problem.
Mr. Rich has sipped from the Obama Kool Aid cup, and is in the tank for Obama. Frank Rich must have hit his head after fainting at an Obama rally. The level of intellectual dishonesty on the far left borders on attempts to slash and burn, lie, cover up at any cost to finally win the presidency. McCain by 4% over Obama Nov. 2008.
There is no comparison here. McCain does not have a 20 year relationship with Hagee. Obama does with Wright. It is a far cry from an endorsement. Wright baptized Obama children. He has been part of Obama life. Obama is a hypocrite. He is not fit to be President.
Only 4%? Beef that up! The defeat will be much greater than 4%. Consider this thought:
What are the people thinking who originally supported Obama in all of those states prior to the revelation unveiling the factual life of the candidate? Iowa is a great example.
The democrats are in a mess now because nobody knew anything about Obama until seven or eight weeks ago. He gives great speech, but I think America is waking to smell Obama’s coffee and it’s not very favorable to the pallet.
Perhaps one day we’ll actually receive a definition of “Change”. How can anyone consistently vote “present”, completely ignoring a stance on anything, and represent change?
What happened to, “bring the troops home now”? Would Obama defy the logic of Presidents since the 1960’s and have sit down conversations with Kim Jong Il, Raul Castro, and Mahmud Ahmadinejad? One would think he’s smart enough to know Ahmadinejad is nothing more than a puppet to the Ayatollah’s. But is he?
Question everything. Educate yourselves.
First of all, Wright is independent of Hagee/Parsley/etc. If Hillary is the nominee, the facts will remain.
Second, the Rich article does not mention Parsley, nor does it explain the depth of McCain’s relation to Hagee and others.
Rod Parsley calls for the U.S. to fulfill its divine mission and destroy Islam. He calls repeatedly for the eradication of a world religion with 1billion followers and 7 million in the US. Here’s what he said, go to Youtube if you don’t believe: “I do not believe our nation can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam”. Yes, wonder how that plays in Baghdad and Riad and Istanbul. There’s more. Parsley: “America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed”. He also directly tells his followers that American Muslims are not loyal to America!
McCain, not having won the nomination, sought this man out. Curried his favor. This is what McCain said on the stage with Parsley: “I’m very honored to have here one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide, Pastor Rod Parsley” … shakes his hand and thanks him etc.
McCain wants to be president. What does he tell the 7million muslim Americans? What does he tell our allies in Baghdad? What does he tell the world? A man calls for the US to destroy Islam, and McCain calls him a great leader in America, a moral compass, and a spiritual guide? How does this mesh with Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran? McCain says he has foreign policy expertise but he’s playing into the paranoia and fear of Muslims.
This is the type of person who McCain SOUGHT to get nominated and elected. Parsley’s followers are being courted by McCain. What does it tell the world that our elected leader (if McCain wins) endorses, approves and believes to be a moral leader a man who calls for the destruction of Islam — a religion practiced peacefully by 1 billion human beings? This is the kind of voter that McCain has sought to align himself with.
While McCain’s personal relation with Parsley may be weaker than Obama’s to Wright, the nature of the relation is of more concern because it is political. In a close election, the religious extremists can make or break McCain. That’s why he’s courting them. That gives them leverage. It foretells more Bush-like policies on things such as birth control (RU-486), stem cell research, foreign aid, suppression of science in federal agencies, separation of church and state (or lack thereof), middle east policy, and more.
Also, don’t think that McCain’s relation with Hagee is just one appearance on stage. Look up Moyer’s piece on CUFI, in which McCain, speaking to Hagee and his followers, calls D.C. the “city of Satan”! How different is that from G-D America?
For a moderate independent secularist like me, McCain’s relations with the religious right are scary. And what is the defense people make for McCain: it’s not as bad as Wright. Well what if Hillary is the nominee? The same question will remain. And furthermore, Obama is not seeking the “black liberation theology” vote. There is no reason to believe that an Obama president would feel he owes them anything. In contrast, a McCain president would indebted to Hagee, Parsley, Robertson, Fallwell’s successors, and the millions of votes they can deliver. Consider the following.
McCain: ” I know they favor that [peace] because of my close relations with them, and pastor John Hagee … [who] is one of the leaders of the pro-Israel-evangelical movement in America.” McCain also said “we should be so grateful for the support of the evangelical movement for the state of Israel, given the influence that they have, beneficial influence that they have over millions of Americans,” Exactly! millions of votes is what this is about.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=19164
When people vote for McCain, they ought to know who they are in league with and who McCain will be beholden to.