OK, yes, McCain's being slimy

But if Senator McCain w a n t e d to repudiate the endorsement of Hagee or Parsley or whichever cult leader endorsed him, surely he could? just as surely as he w o u l d were the KKK, e.g., being so iconically and mediatically evil, to endorse him: he might wish to God they had kept their bloody opinions to themselves, and wish likewise that the media and every other politician, even every other political opponent, would keep silence, but he w o u l d repudiate their act and not try to play it off as if it is beneath his political dignity to notice.

So I think it is fair to provisionally conclude that Senator McCain is of the opinion that Hagee--if that is the person in question--is not so evil as the Klan, e.g., that he has, perhaps, something, at least, positive going for him. If Mr Sullivan and R. D. want to characterize the articulation of that provisional conclusion by a political opponent of Senator McCain's as 'slime', tant pis pour moi. Perhaps the Arizona senator h a s repudiated Hagee's and Parsley's extremist views at some point; I don't know: someone who cannot bring himself to cast a vote in the public assembly against torture isn't worth the effort required to keep up with all of his opinions and activities.

Yes, yes, I realise that reasonable people cannot legitimately distinguish between 'infanticide' (more precisely, what that word represents in the specific political context here) and 'torture' (more precisely, what that word represents in the specific political context here), and 'the relationship between Senator Obama and Rev Wright' and 'the relationship between Senator McCain and Rev Hagee'. Alas for us, and for our Republic.

If the KKK endorsed McCain, even against his wishes, that would tell us something about McCain, at least in relation to the other candidates. Like it or not, it would tell us that the KKK likes his policies and promises more than Obama's or Clinton's. Would it be "fair" to bring that up? Of course, but that would give McCain a chance to reject the endorsement and score points off it, if he didn't do anything to attract it in the first place.

Obama could score major points if he used this opportunity to turn those awesome rhetorical abilities I keep hearing about against Hamas, letting people know that his opposition to Iraq doesn't mean he's soft on Islamic jihadism. Will he? It's a ripe fruit just waiting for picking; if he doesn't pick it, people can't be blamed for wondering why.