Media Letting McCain Off Easy Over Endorsement Flap

John McCain's refusal to distance himself from a controversial endorsement by Catholic-bashing pastor John Hagee received widespread coverage last week. But despite the GOP frontrunner's astounding decision not to rescind his acceptance of the endorsement, the media is letting the story drop.

This story highlights a double standard of epic proportions: While the press gave scant Sunday coverage to McCain's latest folly, John Edwards faced a week-long media firestorm in 2007 after word surfaced that two of his campaign's new hires had posted blog comments many Catholics found offensive. The Edwards story ended only when the bloggers were pressured to quit. But McCain now appears to be getting off with a slap on the wrist.

The bizarre nature of media's silence is compounded by the fact that McCain faces a quandary of far greater magnitude. Edwards' bloggers were junior staff members with relatively little power in the campaign. Hagee, on the other hand, is an influential megachurch pastor who promises to bring along a key conservative constituency. And McCain didn't just accept the pastor's endorsement, he turned it into a campaign event when he embraced Hagee on stage in San Antonio.

What should be causing equal outrage is Catholic League president Bill Donohue's blind acquiescence to McCain. Last year, Donohue hit the roof when Edwards initially retained his bloggers, even though Edwards sufficiently distanced himself from the postings in questions, saying he was "personally offended." In response to Edwards' statement, Donohue issued this threat:

"We will launch a nationwide public relations blitz that will be conducted on the pages of the New York Times, as well as in Catholic newspapers and periodicals. It will be on-going, breaking like a wave, starting next week and continuing through 2007. It will be an education campaign, informing the public of what [Edwards] did today. We will also reach out to our allies in the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities. They worked with us before on many issues, and are sure to do so again. What Edwards did today will not be forgotten."

True to his word, Donohue kept Edwards in the headlines for the next week. But Friday he characterized McCain's pathetic attempt to explain how endorsements only run one way, as "helpful."

As Media Matters noted, the New York Times has given imbalanced coverage of the endorsement flap compared to its handling of the Edwards controversy. And let's not forget that while Meet the Press host Tim Russert hounded Barack Obama at last Tuesday's Democratic debate over an endorsement from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan -- an endorsement, remember, that Sen. Obama never solicited, and distanced himself from in no uncertain terms - Russert decided to give the issue a pass on Sunday's show.

In an effort to keep this story alive, Catholics United is launching a grassroots effort calling on Sen. McCain to reject the Hagee endorsement and unequivocally condemn the pastor's anti-Catholic remarks.

Follow Chris Korzen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chriskorzen

Comments

[zigzag1]

Have you seen the McCain picture MSNBC is using for it's vote count banners It makes the old duffer look like he is 20 years younger. Let's talk bias.

[zigzag1]

Where is the press on the Vicki Iseman story? Can you imagine the frenzy if it was Barack Obama instead of John McCain. The press would be thousands strong in front of her home day and night we would hear about it 24 hours a day on every network. Instead the press accepts McCains word as gospel. Case closed.

[The Collinbrandt]

McCain has been picked to be the next president, there is nothing we can do. Our political theater put on by the media reminds me of the fake wrestleing matches I used to watch in the 1960's. In November, no matter how bad McCain is, he will be president. He could wear a klan costume with a swastika on his back and the press would say "it's o.k., he's a war hero and it's his turn to be king". Look how Prince Harry was given a break when he dressed up in SS garb. Now he's a war hero so it's o.k. Five men control almost all the media in this country and much of it in the rest of the world. These men are the real super delegates; along with a few other controlers of conglopolistic enterprises.

[PatA]

wilhelmR, Catholics are rich, too......
no doubt this insults the Church, but the individual members who will profit from McCain being President are keeping their mouths shut......
Bob Dylan said it best "you gotta serve somebody" and in this instance it is going to be McCain and the right-winged christian terrorists. mark my words!

[SamThornton]

Corporate media has issued a series of free passes to McCain, of which this is only one. The probability that a McCain presidency will return the favor with free passes to further media consolidation and endorsement in policy and law for an end to net neutrality should not be taken lightly.

McCain, the ultimate poseur and enabler of the far right agenda, is a clear and present danger to any possibility of an America still dedicated to its democratic roots. His election would clearly spell the end to the American experiment in representative democracy, not the prelude, but the installation of an absolutist state.

[wilhelmR]

Rest assured Catholics will have noticed. It will come to haunt McCain.

[desmirl]

So you noticed a bit of bias? Remember, McCain and his buddy, Hagee, are doing god's work, so bashing them for bigotry and outright hate would be ungodly. Right? America is still hung up about sex, sexual education, reproductive freedom, and abortion. Hagee may be the bottom of the barrel, but by gar, he's against that evil sexuality thing, so he must be a great guy. Right? Oh, my....

[deadscout]

Has anyone else noticed the theme of corporate media lately? I keep seeing them talk about how NAFTA is good. "soak the rich" is a very bad idea and will destroy america. I think they are getting scared. I wish Edwards were still in the race, just to see them sweat.

[wm1066]

The Media had John Edwards on thier blacklist from the beginning.
There is no telling how far the Media has corrupted our democratic process in America.