McCain Struggles To Explain Away Hagee Connection In Attempt To Criticize Obama, Ayers

Today on ABC's This Week, John McCain attempted to go on the offensive about Barack Obama's tenuous connection to Weatherman Bill Ayers because that was what all the cool kids were attempting to do. McCain said that those loose connections were indicative of Obama's overall attitude and he thought it was wrong for Obama to not condemn Ayers' actions of four decades ago.

The only problem for McCain is that a). Obama, did, in fact, condemn those actions, and b). McCain is chummy with bigoted scumdumpster extraordinaire John Hagee. How did McCain manage to navigate his way through this seemingly dense thicket of contradiction and hypocrisy? Not very well, if you must know! Not very well at all.

STEPHANOPOULOS: A lot of Senator Obama's allies and others say that you should condemn the comments of Reverend John Hagee, an evangelical pastor...

MCCAIN: Oh, I do. And I did. I said, any comments that he made about the Catholic church I strongly condemn, of course.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yet you solicited and accepted his endorsement?

MCCAIN: Yes, indeed. I did. And I condemned the comments that he made concerning the Catholic church.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're going to hold onto his endorsement? Your own campaign acknowledged that you should have done a better job of vetting Pastor Hagee.

MCCAIN: Oh, sure.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So was it a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement?

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MCCAIN: Oh, probably, sure. But I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership of the -- of his church. I admire and appreciate his advocacy for the state of Israel, the independence of the state of Israel. I condemn remarks that are made that has anything to do which is condemning of the Catholic church, but -- so...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... no longer want his endorsement?

MCCAIN: I'm glad to have his endorsement. I condemn remarks
that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything. But thanks for asking.

[WATCH.]

Comments

[nibblybits]

McCain embarrassed himself on This Week today. He went from criticizing Obama's 'relationship' with ex-Weather Underground founder William Ayers to lamely trying to excuse his seeking of John Hagee's endorsement. The juxtaposition was the height of hypocrisy.

If he wants to play the guilt by association game, he has a whole lot more to answer for. At least Obama can say he was only 8 when Ayers did his anarchist deeds; McCain being a thousand years older will not have such an excuse for the litany of sorry criminals he's been involved with like the Keating 5.

[rollingdivision]

Good thing for McCain he hasn't chosen to go to Hagee's church for twenty years or use Hagee as his spiritual counselor.

[dwillisno1]

He did solicit the Hagee endorsement. He knew or should have known what a bigot and crazy Hagee was.

[sawdustinhershoes]

He absolutely knew what Hagee stands for since he's been to Hagee events. He and Liberman and Tom Delay were all filmed openly and enthusiastically participating with Hagee at one of his jewish/christian alliance shindigs last year. Fucking wack is what they are.

The video was posted on HuffPo. HuffPo needs to dig it up and post it again with lots of fanfare. They also need to send it to Oberman, Stewart and Colbert to air and publically ridicule.


There's another big Hagee event scheduled for July. I hope HuffPo films it, too.

[U4IA]

It was difficult to tell who was the bigger coward in that conversation. What are your thoughts?

My vote goes to Stephanopoulos, as he is the far more intelligent of the two; and yet he let Senator McCain drone on about Obama comparing Ayers to Senator Coburn. In fact, Obama was merely asking the question of whether he should also renounce Coburn, his friend, who is on record as saying: "I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life." Clearly he was not comparing the two acts, though both are repulsive and should be condemned. We was simply pointing out the peril of going down the same road our government went down in the 1950's with Joe McCarthy and his campaign against the American people.

Perhaps you are too young to recall McCarthyism; but that is exactly what this guilt by association nonsense is tantamount to, and McCain would do well not to take this track. It will not end well for him. McCain is feeble of mind, but not quite the coward Stephanopoulos is simply due to the fact that his job requires him to seek objectivity, ask tough questions and follow up when he does not get a straight answer. Stephanopoulos fails on every count. McCain's job (or at least how he chooses to approach it) is to say whatever is necessary to get himself elected. And he is proving that he is willing to do just that.

[OhMyGoodness]

does that somehow give credence to his position? absolutely not my friend. Obama is the only candidate being held to the standard of guilt by association. Why is that? So what, he's been a member of that church for 20 years... so what he considers Wright a friend and spiritual counselor... I haven't heard a word from Wright that would lead me to believe that he is not fit to be a spiritual counselor.

[DanoS]

Oh I get it. It's ok for McCain to associate with people who have questionable points of views and say controversal statements, but not for Obama.

This will be used against him in the general and blows his whole position to pieces.

McCain also said that Ayers actions were in the past and we should move on.

It's good to see there are plenty of gaffs to go around for McCain too.

[thinbluetorpedo]

Watching that display of McCain makes one wonder if he is sane.

[ajax2]

McCain knows he has no chance without the fanatical right.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Flipper McCain doesn't believe anything that comes out of Hagee's mouth, any more than he believes anything that comes out of his own mouth.

He is an opportunistic, violent, angry, lying sack of republi-con shit.

Whew. I feel better. At least until he might get elected and I have to move to Canada. But what the hell, with global warming Canada is looking better and better.

[26eaj24]

Anyone that would rather have this guy as the face of our nation around the world instead of Obama is wacko.

[ZekeBundren]

McCain's nickname should be "Simp" for a reason.

It is an open secret in the senate that McCain is a generally amiable simpleton. Who among us doesn't like a war hero Senator dining out on days of yore as long as he keeps the harm he does to a minimum? The unannounced reason many Republicans oppose McCain is he has always placed and almost certainly always will place the personal above the rational. This makes "Simp" a dangerous man in the eyes of more than a few responsible folks in his own party.

There is concern that the worst thing that could happen to America in September is for McCain to run against Clinton because he might actually beat her. Think about it. Just when no rational person believes the United States leadership crisis can get worse, it does. The presidencies of Reagan and young Bush were/ are more the products of committees than the men. One hopes briefly, then one doubts McCain has a committee out there somewhere in the fog. Simp is all loose cannon.

Hagee and Keating won't matter any more to the right than Clinton's pardoning terrorists or Obama's nutty preacher, Wright, matter to the left. But the center is more forgiving of angry expressions of pain by nominal victims than they are of lies like Clinton's or overt KKK-style anger, intolerance and prejudice like Hagee's.

My personal hope is that Simp is the gift that keeps on giving.

[McFlipFlop]

"My personal hope is that Simp is the gift that keeps on giving." -- Mine too. Think about how much fun it will be to question all of his flip-flops. My favorite!

[BethStuart]

Hagee's remarks describing the Catholic Church as the great whore and the anti-Christ are the least of McCain's problems. Check out Hagee's book on Armageddon. And while you're at it, take a look at the Reverand Ron Parsley, another of McCain's spirtual advisors.

[YWCYWC]

George S. is a symbol of all that has gone wrong with network "news." He basically lets McCain dominate the air time, repeating his response several times, leaving a fraction of the time to be challenged. If there are any Clinton supporters tuning in, your candidate has opened the door for these kinds of attacks. She basically introducing some of these attacks and gave them the stamp of approval. She doesn't care of Obama wins, she'll be fine (as she often repeats), but will you? Can you accept another 4 years of GOP vision for America. When a fellow Democrat has aligned her campaign with the themes of the GOP, as her only way of trying to win, regularly going on on FOX, getting the endorsement by right wing newspapers, and trying to suggest that another Democrat is unpatriotic, this country is in serious trouble.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks.

[johnrandall]

is patriot mcbomb bomb wearing his flag lapel pin? I need to know whose side who is on.

[RonnieDebb]

What a hypocrite.

[suekzoo]

Where is McCain's flag pin? MIA

[maryy1947]

Great question!!!!!!

[Ruppy]

Why didn't George ask if Hagee luved America??????