McCain rejects televangelists

2008-05-23 12:08

Stockton, California - Republican John McCain on Thursday rejected endorsements from two influential but controversial televangelists, saying there is no place for their incendiary criticisms of other faiths.

McCain rejected the months-old endorsement of Texas preacher John Hagee after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. McCain called the comment "crazy and unacceptable".

He later repudiated the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio preacher who has sharply criticised Islam and called the religion inherently violent.

McCain issued a statement on Thursday announcing his decision about Hagee.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well," he said.

Later, in Stockton, he told reporters: "I just think that the statement is crazy and unacceptable."

'I reject his endorsement'

Then in an interview with The Associated Press, McCain said he rejected Parsley's support, too.

"I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement," McCain told the AP.

Hagee had sparked controversy since the San Antonio pastor endorsed McCain on February 27 shortly before the Texas presidential primary. Parsley's views were aired on Thursday in an ABC News report.

McCain actively courted Hagee, who leads a megachurch with a congregation in the tens of thousands and has an even wider television audience. Former Republican presidential rivals also sought Hagee's backing.

H agee has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and called it a "false cult system". He also has linked Hitler to the Catholic church, suggesting it helped shape his anti-Semitism. And Hagee said Hurricane Katrina was God's retribution for homosexual sin.

- AP