Barak Obama got into a heap of trouble over his ex-pastor and friend Jeremiah ("God damn America") Wright. But Republican candidate John McCain subsequently got into a spot of bother over some of his own religious acquaintances, such as Pastor John Hagee, a typical representative of the far-out religious right that now plays a dominant role in the neo-conservative leadership of the Republican Party.

Hagee enthusiastically endorsed John McCain's candidature for President. Here is a small sample of the Pastor's enlightened views:

Hagee on Hurricane Katrina

"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 were recipients of the judgment of God for that." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on Islamic Beliefs

Fresh Air host Terry Gross asked if Hagee believed that "all Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews," to which Hagee replied, "Well, the Quran teaches that. Yes, it teaches that very clearly." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on African-Americans

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Hagee was going to "meet with black religious leaders privately at an unspecified future date to discuss comments he made in his newsletter about a 'slave sale,' an East Side minister said Wednesday." The Express-News reported:

"Hagee, pastor of the 16,000-member Cornerstone Church, last week had announced a 'slave sale' to raise funds for high school seniors in his church bulletin, 'The Cluster.'

"The item was introduced with the sentence 'Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone" and ended with "Make plans to come and go home with a slave." [San Antonio Express-News 3/7/96]

Hagee on Catholicism

"Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews." [Jerusalem Countdown by John Hagee]

Hagee on Women

"Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS [Premenstrual syndrome] and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist." [God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters, Sarah Posner]

"[T]he feminist movement today is throwing off authority in rebellion against God's pattern for the family." ["Bible Positions on Political Issues," John Hagee]

Hagee on LGBT Americans

"The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there 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 demur 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." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

Hagee on Iran

"The coming nuclear showdown with Iran is a certainty," Hagee wrote [in 2006] in the Pentecostal magazine Charisma. "Israel and America must confront Iran's nuclear ability and willingness to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons. For Israel to wait is to risk committing national suicide." [The Nation, 8/8/2006]

Initially, McCain defended Pastor Hagee's comments, saying he believe Hagee's claims that his statements were "taken out of context". But later he was compelled to distance himself from this turbulent priest.

The media in the USA, which made such a fuss about the statements of Wright, was curiously reticent about the ravings of Hagee. Why the difference? Because Hagee's extreme right wing views are not seen as "anti-American" but rather mainstream Republicanism, as represented by George W Bush and his White House clique. This small detail shows just how far rabid reaction, combined with religious mania, has become the official ideology of US imperialism.