I would have been more than content to avoid further comment on John McCain’s outreach and embrace of anti-Catholic, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, and anti-Semitic televangelist John Hagee. The media collectively decided to give McCain a pass, the senator made a half-hearted effort to distance himself from some of Hagee’s comments, and McCain critics had no choice but to give up on making this an important part of the campaign.
But before we can move on in earnest, McCain’s latest explanation for his relationship really deserves a closer look.
McCain appeared on Bill Bennett’s nationally syndicated radio show yesterday morning, and the Hagee controversy came up. ThinkProgress has the audio clip; here’s the transcript of the relevant portion:
BENNETT: I’ve got to ask you about something, as a Catholic. This was something a lot of Catholics were talking about. A couple of weeks ago, senator, you received the endorsement of San Antonio Pastor John Hagee. He’s written about my church, “there’s a clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews.” He’s called the Catholic church “a great prostitute,” except he used a stronger word. He’s called my church a “cult.” Your comment on this. There’s actually been a lot of talk about it.
MCCAIN: Well, obviously I repudiate any comments that are anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic, racist, any other. And I condemn them and I condemn those words that Pastor Hagee apparently…that Pastor Hagee wrote. I will say that he said that his words were taken out of context, he defends his position. I hope that maybe you’d give him a chance to respond. He says he has never been anti-Catholic, but I repudiate the words that create that impression. I will say, I’d like to say on his behalf, he’s been a very strong supporter of the state of Israel and when we were doing the No Surrender tour, he came and spoke on behalf of not surrendering in Iraq.
Bennett, who is Catholic, seemed completely satisfied with McCain’s answer. I haven’t the foggiest idea why.
Let’s put aside the “create that impression” nonsense; it’s a silly and transparent dodge. Instead, let’s focus on the good part: “Out of context“? Hagee has called the Roman Catholic Church “the Great Whore,” the “apostate church,” the “anti-Christ,” and “a false cult system” that inspired Adolf Hitler to initiate the Holocaust. McCain thinks there may be a reasonable context for this?
Hagee has argued that God is going to use Muslim terrorists to create “bloodbaths” in our streets to punish us for our sinful policies toward Israel. I’ve seen the context; it doesn’t help.
Hagee has argued that Hurricane Katrina “was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans” for hosting a gay-pride parade. I’ve seen the context; it doesn’t help here, either.
Hagee has smeared Jews (he thinks they’re responsible for their own oppression), Muslims (he thinks they’re all inherently dangerous), women, “Harry Potter” novels, and pretty much anyone who doesn’t look and think like exactly like him. Context is never exculpatory; it’s always even more damning.
McCain, who clearly doesn’t have the foggiest idea what he’s talking about, is not only willing to dismiss Hagee’s outrageous attacks on almost everyone based on some imaginary “context,” he’s willing to rationalize his embrace of this nut because the radical televangelist agrees with him on Iraq policy.
I keep hearing rumors that McCain is supposed to be a great campaigner. I’m still waiting for evidence to bolster the conventional wisdom.