No More Mr. Nice Guy!

"My friends, John Hagee is no longer my BFF"

While I'm pleased that John McCain has belatedly distanced himself from holy hatemonger John Hagee, I'm struck by the contrast between the media's all-Wright, all-the-time feeding frenzy and the muted coverage of this much more significant story.

Barack Obama never sought out Jeremiah Wright's endorsement, but the McCain camp actively wooed Hagee, and McCain repeatedly said he was proud and honored to have Hagee's nod.

Hagee's long history of making odious comments has been discussed extensively by progressive bloggers for several months, so it could not have been a secret to McCain. The fact that he only repudiated the comments when they got some wider exposure speaks of political cowardice, not courage or leadership. McCain feels he must suck up to the most deranged, mouth-foaming elements of the Christian extreme right, unless their insanity goes so far over the top that it hurts his electoral chances.

People like Hagee with his millions of followers and millions of dollars in donations pouring in every month, and his constant incitement of hatred and violence, are far more dangerous to America than a hundred Jeremiah Wrights. Only racism can account for the widely disparate reporting of the Wright and Hagee stories, and the blatant double standards.

The media will trip over itself in its rush to bury the Hagee fiasco in the memory hole. Fairness demands that we hang Hagee and the equally despicable Rod Parsley like a pair of albatrosses around McCain's neck from now until election day.