McCain publically called Parsley a "spiritual leader" on February 26, 2008 in Cincinnati, as quoted by the COlumbus Dispatch. This is not some fantasy of Mother Jones magazine.

Parsley's messianic tendencies are well-known to those of us in Ohio. An entire chapter in his book Silent No More is devoted to an attack on Islam, he has called gays worse than 'barnyard animals" and he has openly advocated for replacing the constitutional with Christian Biblical law. What Parsley likely wants from McCain is to be the equivalent of what Dobson is to Bush — the guy who's on the weekly call, who's consulted by the president on key issues, the guy who gives the thumbs up or thumbs down to judicial nominees. Parsley has a specific religious agenda he hopes to see fulfilled.

No matter what anyone says about this or that person who has had some affiliation with Obama but never with his campaign or is a marginal person in his campaign (a local volunteer), Parsley stoof side by side with McCain and travelled with him on his campaign bus on Feb. 26, which is whole orders of magnitude different from something someone with no relationship to Obama's campaign said.

He’s just pandering for votes.

And if he gets to be president, and if he wants a second term, there will have to be payback.

These are strange people with troubling ideas and they are not without influence. Like many here, my respect for McCain is diminishing rapidly, my concern for what form his presidency would take growing proportionally.

The primary difference that I saw between the Che deal and the McCain/Hagee/Parsley deal is simply that McCain stood up with Hagee and Parsley and said that he was proud to have their endorsements. He called Hagee a great friend to Israel, even though Hagee openly advocates for the destruction of Israel.

I need to know more about Wright and Obama's relationship before I can render judgment one way or the other, but I won't spare Obama just because I support his candidacy if that's what the facts warrant.

Please bear in mind that my endorsement of Obama, literally, is that he's the "only politician in years that I don't actively despise." For me he is truly the lesser of three evils, and I disagree with a great many of his proposals. However, I find Clinton and McCain to be much, much greater evils. I'm not sure which one I'd vote for if they end up being the candidates in the GE.

I'm glad to hear it. I was not impressed with your defense of an Obama volunteer who was showing support for a terrorist as not being something that could be laid against Obama, but then turn around and say that the voluntary remarks of a McCain supporter should be held as a sin against McCain. I quite frankly expected you to do the same sort of thing in this case.

I would suggest that as you go through the Wright investigation you also examine some of the Obama's campaign playing of the race card and compare that to Obama spending many years voluntarily going to this man's church. Unless you hold that racism can only be by whites against blacks, I think you will see a huge amount of hypocrisy. And perhaps that will be the first step down the road of enlightenment on exactly what pig is in the poke you are buying.

I am actually in the process of researching Wright, Obama's relation to him, and what Obama's said about him. Probably have it up in the next couple of days. It's a longer term relationship so there's a little more to it than McCain's one-and-outs that I've documented. My prima facie look, though, is not favorable to Wright.

I could endorse McCain right here, right now, and he could scarcely be held accountable for my views.

But if he hugs me onstage and says how happy he is that Anderson endorses him, then that is different.

If Obama called Farrakhan a "spiritual guide," you would be ALL OVER him about that.

I would have a lot more interest and respect for your position if you were being at all fair and balanced about this. I know you are in the tank for Obama, but perhaps you could explore the difference between having a pastor endorse you and putting yourself under the pastoral care of someone like Obama has. Obama, by continuing to go to church under this man, fund the church with donations and not repudiate him doesn't seem to hit your radar. I wonder why?

Brian Ross's report for Good Morning America on Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, is potentially a huge problem for Obama. In the piece, Ross has clips of Wright delivering sermons in which he says we should not say God Bless America, but God "Damn" America, in which he calls America the US of KKKA (referring to how racist the country is), and in which he says about September 11 that America's "chickens have come home to roost."

Religious competition doesn't necessarily mean violent confrontation. While Islam advocates it modern Christianity has a history of winning followers through the new testament teachings of love and forgiveness. I'm sure we could all go back and hash over the crusades again but it's a different world now so let's not.

Upholding and promoting one's faith is not bigoted. Recognizing a worldwide battle of religious ideas is not bigoted. Claiming your religion as superior to others is not bigoted. I find those characterizations nothing more than old leftist anti-religious establishment rhetoric. It's tiring.

If we take a look around the world it becomes very clear there is a religion threatening all others. Whether you are Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, or no religion at all you are at risk, that's a reality. If we expect a peaceful detente we should first recognize those who we wish peace with. Slowly our country and it's leaders are doing that.

We do respect freedom of religion in this country but we also respect other human rights as well. What exactly are we to treat a religion that does not respect those other rights?

Give me a break.

Furthermore, the fact that Parsley and Hagee endorsed McCain should be no surprise at this time. It's not like they endorsed him when there was still actually a race going on--they endorsed the Republican nominee, and all of them (except R*n P*ul) are for the war on Islamic extremism. Big deal. It's not like they'd endorse the Democrat, after all.

I guess this is the attempt to equate endorsements with Barack Obama's REAL "spiritual mentor," Rev. Jeremiah Wright--who honors Farrakhan.

Weak.

because McCain has the same foreign policy views as these folks.

Right. He and Bush have always said they want to "obliterate Islam." In your deranged fantasies, anyway.

The intellectual dishonesty and bankruptcy is mind-boggling. How people can live with themselves being so appallingly dishonest is beyond me.

Because he's going through the motions w/ these people. McCain has never liked the Religious Right - he probably thinks, as do some Dems, that they're ALL nutjobs. He's just pandering for votes.

So, the idea that he should be distinguishing b/t nutjobs and non-nutjobs isn't occurring to him.

Both Hagee and Parsley comfortably fit into the “bigoted nutjob” camp. So why is John McCain, Mr. “Straight Talk”, Mr. “Integrity and Honor”, so willing to appear with them?

Uhh...because McCain has the same foreign policy views as these folks. His embrace of Bush's radicalism is no secret. I'm not sure why you're surprised that he would associate with people who share his basic foreign policy philosophy.