The Hagee Factor

John McCain picks up the endorsement of Christian for war John Hagee. The article describes him thusly:

Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio, is best known for his outspoken support of Israel and writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

Israel, as you may have heard, is actually located in the Middle East and populated by Jews. Thus, it's not obviously in which sense envisioning a blood-soaked Middle East clash that leads to the return of Jesus Christ constitutes support for Israel. AIPAC has decided to embrace the guy, but what he stands for is the destruction of Israel:

He argues that a strike against Iran will cause Arab nations to unite under Russia's leadership, as outlined in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel, leading to an “inferno [that] will explode across the Middle East, plunging the world toward Armageddon.” During his appearance on Hinn's program at the end of last March, for example, the host enthused, “We are living in the last days. These are the most exciting days in church history,” but then went on to add, “We are facing now [the] most dangerous moment for America.” At one point, Hinn clapped his hands in delight and shouted, “Yes! Glory!” and then urged his viewers to donate money faster because he is running out of time to preach the gospel.

Ask yourself if uniting the Arab nations in an anti-Israel alliance under the Russian banner sounds like supporting Israel? To me, it sounds like a disaster.

Meanwhile, Glenn Greenwald sensibly wonders why it is that an African-American politician is expected to deliver thirty lashes to a black Muslim leader with despicable views like Louis Farrakhan, while it's completely acceptable for a white politician to actively and successfully cour the support of a white Christian leader with despicable views like Hagee.