McCain drops preacher over Hitler-praising sermon

by Dave Keating | May 23, 2008 at 01:45 am

192 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Just weeks after Hagee tried to calm the political storm over his calling the Catholic Church "the great whore," now revelations that in the 1990's he also preached that Hitler was doing "God's work" by exterminating Jews in Europe have caused the McCain campaign to cut their ties to the preacher. McCain had formed a political partnership with Hagee early on in his campaign and accepted his endorsement.

This reflects the increasing difficulty McCain is going to have with balancing his actual views and beliefs with that of the far right, which he must court and win the backing of to win the US presidency. It also has direct parallels to Obama's trouble with his former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The Obama campaign would be foolish not to go after this hard, pointing out the difference in extremity between what Haggee has said about Catholics and Jews and what Wright has said about America's foreign policy. They would also be wise to point out that Wright has never been part of the Obama campaign, wheras Hagee has been an integral part of the McCain campaign Now that Obama is guaranteed to be the Democratic nominee, the campaign can fully devote the time to persuing McCain on this issue.

US presidential hopeful John McCain has rejected the backing of a Church leader who said Hitler was carrying out "God's will" in chasing the Jews from Europe.

It comes after the comments by evangelical preacher Rev John Hagee, which were made in the 1990s, re-emerged on a US news website.

In a sermon, Rev Hagee said the Nazi leader was carrying out a divine plan to gather Jews into the Holy Land.

The Republican candidate described the comments as "crazy and unacceptable".

Senator McCain had been criticised for seeking the endorsement of the controversial minister.

Rev Hagee has also described the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and a "false cult system", as well as suggesting that Hurricane Katrina was God's retribution for homosexual sin.