John McCain accepts endorsement of undisputed anti-Catholic John Hagee

A conscientious reader brought this to my attention earlier in the week, but I didn't get a chance to look into it more closely until today.

Associated Press gives us the gist:

Endorsed by an influential Texas televangelist, Republican John McCain endeared himself to one group of voters but risked alienating another with the pastor's anti-Catholic views.

...The televangelist, San Antonio megachurch leader John Hagee, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and called it a "false cult system" and "the apostate church"; the word "apostate" means someone who has forsaken his religion.

He also has linked Adolf Hitler to the Catholic church, suggesting it helped shape his anti-Semitism.

McCain said he does not agree with some of Hagee's past comments. "It's simply not accurate to say that because someone endorses me that I therefore embrace their views," McCain told reporters at a news conference Monday in Phoenix.

After additional pressure from Catholic groups, including the Catholic League, McCain clarified:

"... in no way did I intend for his [Hagee’s] endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee’s views, which I obviously do not."

McCain also said he appreciated Hagee's support for the state of Israel and admired his spiritual leadership:

"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."

Before we look at the fallout, this video of Hagee in action speaks a thousand words:


... this is what we are dealing with: flagrant anti-Catholicism.

It's interesting to watch the outrage from such inveterate liberal critics of the Catholic Church such as Daily Kos and the Huffington Post. Somehow, I don't see in their response so much concern for respecting the Catholic Church, as interest in seeing Catholics leave McCain over this spat.

A secondary, but important discussion is being generated which asks whether McCain/Hagee is being treated differently in the public forum than a related case with Obama/Farrakhan. More on that here.

Stephen Bainbridge gets the last word: "... this is even worse than McCain’s about face on Bob Jones University. It’s extremely disappointing."

Reactions?

update: John Hagee writes a most unconvincing defense.