John McCain and Evangelical Christian endorsements

[oregonpackfan]

While much of the media dealt with Barack Obama and the Jeremiah Wright relationship, there has been minimal media coverage of McCain seeking endorsements from ultra-conservative Evangelical Christian leaders like John Hagee and Rod Parsley.

John Hagee, from Texas, referred to Hitler as God's "hunter" sent to eliminate Jews and send them to the promised land. He blamed Hurricane Katrina on the people of New Orleans for maintaining "a level of sin that was offensive to God." He called the Catholic church "the great whore."

McCain initially called Ohio Pentecostal minister Rod Parsley both a moral compass and a spiritual guide. Parley has been quoted telling his congregation to "lock and load" to destroy the "false religion" that is Islam.

McCain now has suddenly denounced the endorsements of both Hagee and Parsley. It makes one wonder whether he truly does not believe in the Evangelistic preachings or whether it is the politically expedient thing to do.

[SkinBasket]

I would guess the media attention discrepancy is because Obama and Wright seem to have had a much closer relationship than McCain and these other yahoos.

[Harlan Huckleby]

There has been a fair amount of media coverage of these guys. The story just doesn't have any legs. McCain doesn't have enough association with these preachers to interest many people. Most politicians eventually take money and support from kooks.

I was listening to the Alan Colmes radio show, and his producer put together a montage of firey comments from Hagee, interspersed with a quote from McCain thanking him for his support. It fell flat.

The attempt is certainly being made to draw out this story as a counter-balance to Jeremiah Wright, it won't fly. Wright was OBama's pastor for 20 years, he named his book "The Audacity of Hope" after one of WRight's sermons. Obama could no more abandon Jeremiah Wright than he could abandon his grandmother.

[Freak Out]

Hagee is a complete wack job but Mac is no follower of his...all he wanted was the votes he brings.

[Joemailman]

With all the problems the next President will face, these side issues are ridiculous. The comments made by Wright and Hagee/Parsley do not reflect the thinking of Obama and McCain. McCain sought the endorsements of Hagee and Parsley for political reasons. Obama made a decision that the good outweighed the bad in deciding to stay in Wright's parish. Does anybody really think the the next Presidency will be influenced by any of these preachers?

[Harlan Huckleby]

With all the problems the next President will face, these side issues are ridiculous.

Many people think that Obama's 20 year association with Wright speaks badly about his judgement. So the Wright issue is not ridiculous, it is significant even if you wish it were not. And its more significant because Obama is new, comes from a background that is a bit alien to many Americans, and has little record nationally.

Obama's handling of the incident was troubling: at first he struck a politically winning balance of loyalty to Wright and mild condemnation of Wright's worst remarks (which he said he did not know about.) One month later, when Wright publically called him a phony, he discovered that Wright really was a bad man after all.

Does anybody really think the the next Presidency will be influenced by any of these preachers?

Reverand Wright is more significant than the other guys, its misleading to include him in "these preachers."

Obama's membership in that church doesn't matter to me. I don't think Michelle Obama's "Proud of America" comment is that significant. But Obama lied about both issues. Michelle meant what she said, her comment reads the same in context, and she said it twice in a prepared speech. And Obama knew damn well what Reverend Wright was all about.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Does anybody really think the the next Presidency will be influenced by any of these preachers?

I think it's speaks to their character. It seems like McCain accepted Hagee's support when he thought it would help him win votes. Now, he's disavowing him now that it looks like it will hurt him. I don't think he was influenced much by him though.

I don't doubt for a second that Obama believes in a lot of what Wright preaches. The pastor is the most important factor in choosing a church for most Christians. You have to trust that pastor and believe in what he's preaching. Otherwise, you find another church.

[oregonpackfan]

The entire controversy about the influence of religious leaders upon American Presidential candidates shows the wisdom of our forefathers in declaring the official separation of church and state in drawing up the constitution.

Certainly Presidents are influenced by religious leaders but we do not want a situation like many countries in the world where religious leaders have definitive powers in the country's political actions like a few Arab countries or a few European countries in the past.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Give it up, Oregon. We've now been through the trifecta of diversionary tactics employed by Obama defenders to deal with Jeremiah Wright:

1) McCain has kooky men in pointy hats on his team too
2) Ignore the man behind the curtain! Lets stick to the real issues.
3) Seperation of church and state! Wright was giving sermons, not political speeches.

All of these arguments crumble in a light breeze. I won't even bother with the latest one. And they only invite more discussion about the Rev, which is like heroin for Obama-hating assholes like myself.

Here is some free advice to you and JoeMailman and all Obama fans: the smartest way to deal with the Rev situation is to refuse to discuss it. The Rev is gonna hurt Obama some, there is nothing to be done about it. Hoosier appears to have figured this out.

[texaspackerbacker]

Somebody should dig up, just for comparison sake, a summary of the beliefs and statements of Hagee and Parsley versus the statements and beliefs of Wright and Ayres.

Let's examine exactly what is and isn't "extreme views".

Some of you posters who like to think of yourselves as objective and unbiased really ought to have a go at it.

It might also be interesting to research the nature of Obama's relationship with his two versus McCain's relationship with his two.

[Freak Out]

Nader 2008.

[Kiwon]

The entire controversy about the influence of religious leaders upon American Presidential candidates shows the wisdom of our forefathers in declaring the official separation of church and state in drawing up the constitution.

Yikes! You taught for how long?

Do a little research into:

A. September 17, 1787 (The day the Constitution was created)
B. December 15, 1791 (The day the Bill of Rights was effected)
C. October 7, 1801 (The day the Danbury Baptists sent a letter to President Thomas Jefferson expressing concern that their religious liberties were at risk in Connecticut).
D. January 1, 1802 (The day that President Jefferson agreed with the Danbury Baptists in a private letter and included, "...I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.")

You are rewriting history by injecting Thomas Jefferson's personal opinion into the Constitution. The words are not there. Jefferson was one of the principal authors of the Constitution. If the intent were to have this bright, red line between religious faith and the fledgling U.S. Government these words or similar ones would have been put there, probably by Jefferson himself.

The First Amendment to the Constitution written by James Madison was designed to protect the individual's right of religious expression from the potentially hostile State that might want to impede or institutionalize it, not the other way around as commonly believed today.
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Question: Why aren't Liberals bothered by these photos? Is it because they believe that Obama is just pandering to conservatives in Kentucky and doesn't really believe in the standard Christian themes represented in the ads?

[MJZiggy]

Who said they don't bother people?

[sheepshead]

No comparison with guys that endorse a guy and spending 20 years in a guys church and appointing him to your campaign. Big, big difference.

[Kiwon]

Who said they don't bother people?

Where are all the mainstream news stories warning of the coming "theocracy?" That would be the central theme if a conservative candidate had put out the same flyer.

The media went nuts over Huckabee's "floating cross" which was actually a bookshelf. But they are silent when Obama's ad place him in church and includes his testimony firmly linking himself to "God, the Lord, Jesus Christ and Christianity." Why?

Why is the media so desperate to see Obama elected?

OPF accused McCain of pandering although he rarely speaks about his personal beliefs. Why doesn't the media nail Obama for the same thing especially since the evidence is overwhelming?