Last month McCain held a national press conference to announce that he was "very honored" to receive the endorsement of Rev. John Hagee, pastor of the Cornerstone mega-church in SanAntonio, Texas. As stated by Ed Naha [HERE] 'McCain spent hundreds of dollars on Chapstick kissing ass and chasing the endorsement of Hagee.'  McCain, who once spoke out against the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, calling him one of America's "agents of intolerance," has again flip-flopped, becoming cozy with the religious rightwing fringe and Hagee, who makes preachers in the Falwell mold look like pillars of tolerance. McCain said, "well I think its important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes. And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagees spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel."

Considering the fact that the media has put Obama through hell over Reverend Wright, it is fitting that we review some of the statements that Hagee has said:

HURRICANE KATRINA WAS CAUSED BY GAYS & NEW ORLEANS DESERVED IT. On the Fresh Air radio show with host Terry Gross on September 18, 2006 he stated --  GROSS: I just want to ask you one question based on one of your sermons that--and this isn't about Israel. You said after Hurricane Katrina that it was an act of God, and you said "when you violate God's will long enough, the judgment of God comes to you. Katrina is an act of God for a society that is becoming Sodom and Gomorrah reborn." Do you still think that Katrina is punishment from God for a society that's becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah?

Pastor HAGEE: All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are--were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade on the Monday that the Katrina came, and the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demure from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment, and I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans. All of the city was punished because of the sin that happened there in that city.

HELD SLAVERY FUNDRAISER FOR SCHOOL. In March 1996 Hagees church, Cornerstone Church announced a ''Senior High School Slave Sale'' in which students volunteered to be ''sold'' to church members, who assigned them to household chores and other duties. The announcement of the event came in the Rev. John Hagee's column in the Baptist church's newsletter. Hagee's advertisement stated,' 'Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone Sunday night, March 31st with the Senior High School Slave Sale.'' He later stated, ''we certainly did not intend to offend anyone and apologize to anyone offended,'' said the Rev. John Hagee of Cornerstone Church.  But, in a radio interview, he protested about pressure to be "politically correct" and joked that perhaps his pet dog should be called a "canine American."

Claims that Islamic Qur'an contains a "mandate to kill Christians and Jews" During the same September 18, 2006, edition of National Public Radio's Fresh Air, Hagee discussed Islam, stating, "those who live by the Qur'an have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews... it teaches that very clearly." He then proceeded to characterize the military threat posed by those who follow Islamic scripture: "There are 1.3 billion people who follow the Islamic faith, so if you're saying there's only 15 percent that want to come to America or invade Israel to crush it, you're only talking about 200 million people. That's far more than Hitler and Japan and Italy and all of the axis powers in World War II had under arms."

CATHOLIC CHURCH IS EVIL 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. In his book Jerusalem Countdown he said, "Adolf Hitler attended a Catholic school as a child and heard all the fiery antisemitic rantings from Chrysostom to Martin Luther. When Hitler became a global demonic monster, the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII never, ever slightly criticized him. [MORE] and [MORE]

As stated by Bruce Wilson [HERE], today we have a marriage of convenience between the right wing fundamentalists who hate Obama, and the "progressive" Clintons who are playing the race card through their own smear machine. As Jane Smiley writes in the Huffington Post "[The Clinton's] are, indeed, now part of the 'vast right wing conspiracy.'

Both the far right Republicans and the stop-at-nothing Clintons are using the "scandal" of Obama's preacher to undermine the first black American candidate with a serious shot at the presidency. Funny thing is, the racist Clinton/Far Right smear machine proves that Obama's minister had a valid point. There is plenty to yell about these days."