McCain’s answer about Obama

Here is the YouTube clip and below is the transcript of Hannity’s exchange with McCain about Obama and Wright.

HANNITY: Senator Clinton claims that Barack Obama has not had the scrutiny that other candidates have had in this campaign.

There is a big emerging controversy about his pastor of 20 years, a man who went on a trip with Louis Farrakhan to Tripoli, a guy that has—his church has given a lifetime achievement award to Louis Farrakhan. We now have some of his sermons. He used “g-d America,” “the U.S. of KKK of A.” “The chickens have come home to roost,” he said the Sunday after the attack on this country on 9/11.

He has called him—Barack has said of his pastor, his trusted adviser, he’s proud of his pastor. He married him and his wife. He’s baptized his kids.

Does that sound like a problem for you?

MCCAIN: I think that when people support you, it doesn’t mean that you support everything they say. Obviously, those words and those statements are statements that none of us would associate ourselves with, and I don’t believe that Senator Obama would support any of those, as well.

HANNITY: He’s been—but he’s been going to the church for 20 years. His pastor—the church gave a lifetime achievement award to one of the biggest racists and anti-Semites in the country, Louis Farrakhan. Would you go to a church that—where your pastor supported Louis Farrakhan?

MCCAIN: Obviously, that would not be my choice. But I do know Senator Obama. He does not share those views.

And we get sometimes—I don’t—a lot of those statements I’ve just heard for the first time that you mentioned. But I know that, for example, I’ve had endorsements of some people that I didn’t share their views…

HANNITY: Pastor Hagee recently, yes.

MCCAIN: … but they endorsed mine. And so I think we’ve got to be very careful about that part.

HANNITY: Yes, but he wasn’t your pastor for 20 years.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 18, 2008 11:19 AM | Send