It seems Joe Lieberman just can't get enough of John Hagee. Lieberman took some time tonight to stop in and speak at Hagee's Christians United For Israel conference in Washington, even after John McCain was forced to reject Hagee's support over some rather controversial remarks.

Among Hagee's greatest hits: God brought Hitler to brutalize the Jews and thus spur them back to Israel, the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of the Book of Revelation, and Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment against New Orleans for its tolerance of homosexuality. Plus his overriding fascination is the Apocalypse, and he's constantly urging military strikes against Iran.

The kicker: Lieberman admitted that a whole lot of people told him he shouldn't be speaking there. "The bond that I feel with Pastor Hagee and each and every one of you is much stronger than that, and so I am proud to stand with you tonight," he added.

In the wake of John McCain's public rejection of John Hagee's endorsement, a prize he had sought for some time up until the Texas primary, we here at TPM have assembled a timeline documenting their political relationship from 2007 to the present.

Check it out here.

John McCain has now publicly rejected the support of yet another powerful right-wing preacher, Rod Parsley of Ohio, after rejecting the endorsement of John Hagee earlier today.

McCain said of Parsley, a self-proclaimed "Christocrat" who has declared that America was founded with the mission of destroying Islam: "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."

Parsley is in many ways a different case from Hagee, who at the end of the day can only deliver votes in what is already the safe Republican state of Texas. Parsley controls an evangelical vote operation that was pivotal in President Bush's 2004 Ohio victory. If Parsley were to view this as anything more than a pro forma rejection for the sake of appearances, it could have very real consequences down the road.

The controversy surrounding John Hagee's endorsement has finally gotten to John McCain. In the wake of new quotes being circulated by the Huffington Post in which Hagee called Hitler an instrument of God's will, McCain has now rejected Hagee's support.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them," McCain told CNN in a statement. "I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well."

That matter aside, McCain was sure to bring this back to Barack Obama, insisting that his active effort to get Hagee's support originally was not nearly as bad as Obama's associations with Jeremiah Wright.

"I have said I do not believe Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright's extreme views. But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years. I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today."

Late Update: Hagee has now issued a formal withdrawal of his endorsement, but it reads more like he's stepping aside rather than actually dropping his support:

"I am tired of these baseless attacks and fear that they have become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues. I have therefore decided to withdraw my endorsement of Senator McCain for President effective today, and to remove myself from any active role in the 2008 campaign," he said in a statement.

"I hope that the Senator McCain will accept this withdrawal so that he may focus on the issues that are most important to America and the world."

During his appearance today on This Week, John McCain said it was "probably" a mistake to seek out the endorsement of John Hagee, the apocalyptic Texas preacher.

On the other hand, McCain did say he was "glad to have" Hagee's endorsement: "I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership ... I admire and appreciate his advocacy for the state of Israel, the independence of the state of Israel."

Somewhat awkwardly, this line of questioning was in the middle of the same interview where McCain condemned Barack Obama's past associations with former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers.

John McCain has now made his position clearer on John Hagee: He stands by Hagee's support, even if his words have created the "impression" of being anti-Catholic.

Think Progress reports that McCain was asked today about some of Hagee's inflammatory comments about the Catholic Church, during an appearance on Bill Bennett's radio show.

"Well, obviously I repudiate any comments that are anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic, racist, any other," McCain said. "And I condemn them and I condemn those words that Pastor Hagee apparently -- that Pastor Hagee wrote. I will say that he said that his words were taken out of context, he defends his position. I hope that maybe you'd give him a chance to respond."

McCain also added a defense of Hagee: "I will say, I'd like to say on his behalf, he's been a very strong supporter of the state of Israel and when we were doing the No Surrender tour, he came and spoke on behalf of not surrendering in Iraq."

John McCain is now starting to inch away from the support of televangelist John Hagee -- known for his eager anticipation of Armageddon, plus his inflammatory comments against the Catholic Church and other groups -- now that the press has noticed the problem here.

"We've had a dignified campaign, and I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics," McCain told the Associated Press. "I sent two of my children to Catholic school. I categorically reject and repudiate any statement that was made that was anti-Catholic, both in intent and nature."

McCain said he was responding to yesterday's criticism from Nancy Pelosi, describing Pelosi's censure of Hagee's views and McCain's association with Hagee as an "attack."

However, it still sounds like McCain accepts Hagee's endorsement but rejects his views only insofar as they might be anti-Catholic.

As Nico Pitney reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a Catholic, denounced televangelist John Hagee during a blogger conference call today, saying that Hagee's harangues against the Catholic Church (among other things) are "outside the circle of civilized debate in our democracy."

When a blogger on the call asked about Hagee, Pelosi rejected him out of hand and seemed convinced that "it won't be long" before McCain rejected Hagee too.

It had to be pointed out to her that McCain, in fact, had sought out Hagee's endorsement. She seemed genuinely surprised by that, said that she "certainly" thinks that McCain should reject it, and then added "I can't imagine that he wouldn't reject it."

While Barack Obama has been forced to renounce the uninvited support of Louis Farrakhan, John McCain has made it official today: He's still accepting the endorsement of John Hagee. Here's the statement released this afternoon:

"Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not.

"I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society."

While McCain assures the public that he doesn't agree with all of Hagee's views -- which include End Times theology, anti-Catholic teachings, and a pronouncement that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for New Orleans' tolerance of homosexuality -- he does not go so far as to either denounce those statements or reject Hagee's support entirely.

What will Tim Russert say?

Barack Obama was questioned at Tuesday night's debate by Tim Russert and Hillary Clinton about repudiating Louis Farrakhan's endorsement -- which Obama said was unsolicited -- in the strongest terms possible. He was repeatedly badgered by Russert, and was forced to disown Farrakhan over and over again.

The very next day, John McCain appeared onstage in Texas with Pastor John Hagee, an influential activist in the Christian Zionist movement. Hagee's comments about world affairs can make Farrakhan seem pedestrian at times: He eagerly awaits the Armageddon, considers the Catholic Church to be the Anti-Christ, and has said that Jews brought their own persecution upon themselves.

But when it came to McCain's rather controversial backer, the press hardly batted an eye. Seems like a pretty clear double standard, right?

Some readers might remember Hagee from this video put out last year by Max Blumenthal, from Hagee's Christians United For Israel conference. During the event, Hagee proclaimed that the United States must consider a preemptive strike on Iran, and also said that Jews had been responsible for their persecution throughout history because of a failure to properly accept God:

Blumenthal only scratched the surface here -- Hagee is a colorful character, to say the least. More available after the jump.

Read more »

John McCain went to Texas yesterday to accept the endorsement of megachurch leader and televangelist John Hagee, a leading figure in the Christian Zionist movement. However, the Dallas Morning News notes that McCain avoided a question about Hagee's eschatological brand of theology. "All I can tell you is I'm very proud to have pastor Hagee's support," McCain said.

Hagee's teachings, as laid out in books of his such as Jerusalem Countdown, center around the viewpoint that the Bible has prophesied the current war on terror, that the United States and Israel should wage a preemptive strike against Iran and any other Middle Eastern countries who pose a threat to Israel, and that an imminent war over Israel will culminate in the Second Coming.