A Turbulent Pastor

By Holly Bailey - Newsweek
Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - Web Link
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May 6, 2008

John McCain likes to think of himself as a straight shooter—a man of honor who doesn't duck tough questions. But at least one question does get him bobbing and weaving: why doesn't he renounce the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, the San Antonio televangelist who has offended Roman Catholics and other groups?

On the trail, McCain tries to stay away from talking about Hagee. In New Orleans last month, he grew irritated when asked about the pastor's views on Hurricane Katrina. "It's nonsense, it's nonsense, it's nonsense," McCain said when a reporter drew attention to Hagee's 2006 statement to National Public Radio that New Orleans had suffered "the judgment of God" because of its "level of sin." McCain refused to disavow Hagee's support. "Would I consider repudiating his endorsement?" McCain said to reporters on the back of his bus. "I certainly condemn those parts of his remarks. [But] I continue to appreciate his support for the state of Israel and for many of the good things that he and his church have done."

McCain and his aides draw a sharp distinction between his relationship to Hagee and Barack Obama's ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. "I didn't attend Pastor Hagee's church for 20 years," the candidate told reporters on his Straight Talk Express. "And there's a great deal of difference, in my view, between someone who endorses you, and other circumstances." McCain's aides attribute the Hagee controversy to poor vetting. But even some Republicans (not affiliated with the campaign) privately wonder how the pastor's extreme views slipped through without notice. McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year. In early 2007, the Arizona senator traveled to Hagee's Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, where the two men had breakfast. They bonded over a shared commitment to the protection of Israel, a meeting that McCain later cited as a sign of his outreach to social conservatives.