In Church, McCain Unwittingly Becomes Part of Sermon

(CBS)

From CBS News' John Bentley:

(PHOENIX) – Seeing yourself talk about the break-up of your marriage on the big screen is probably not what John McCain expected when he went to church this morning.

But that’s exactly what happened at the North Phoenix Baptist Church today, when Pastor Dan Yeary played a clip from Rick Warren’s interview with McCain last weekend where he asked him what his “greatest moral failing” was.

"The failure of my first marriage," McCain told Warren. “It's my greatest moral failure."

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Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, the pastor that presided over Jenna Bush’s wedding ceremony and is considered a close personal friend of President Bush, absolutely ripped into John McCain today on a conference call with reporters. Rev. Caldwell took issue with Senator McCain’s remarks that he made at the Sturgis bike rally last week when he volunteered his wife for the rally’s “beauty” pageant, the Ms. Buffalo Chip pageant. For those who were not familiar with that story, the Ms. Buffalo Chip pageant is a topless modeling contest, that among other things, involves a section with a banana.

Caldwell comments highlight exactly why true family values conservatives should have a problem with John McCain.

“Well, I don’t know a lot about John McCain’s family history, I do know, however, that as recently as last week I think it was, the Senator made a comment in South Dakota regarding his wife entering some Buffalo Chips contest which is this topless deal and if she were to enter she would probably win it and my personal opinion and based on my understanding of the Christian faith, that’s not not, N-O-T, not the type of expression that a presidential candidate, or anyone for that matter who is a follower of the Christian faith, ought to make,” said the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell. “I don’t know if that is a perfect case in point, but it surely does help to juxtapose the DNA of Senator Obama, if you would, versus the DNA of Senator McCain.”

The article also points out that Caldwell is backing Obama for president, and is a member of the Matthew 25 network. For anyone who is not familiar with the Matthew 25 network and the great work they do, you can check out cardboard’s Daily Kos diary currently on the Recommended list there.

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Louis Rene Beres is, in my opinion, a wild-eyed and war-mongering Jew, who shoots off his mouth incessantly on behalf of his unyielding opinion that Iran is about to erase Israel from the face of the earth. He bases that (apparently) solely on the statements of Iran’s current president, a wing-nut by the name of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Wing-nut presidents are not the exclusive province of Iranians. We happen to have one ourselves, who has single-handedly frightened and estranged a larger portion of the world than Iran by at least a power of ten. Home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC (Wikipedia), what Iran has not done is attack, preemptively or otherwise, another nation. Would that Israel could say the same.

(The Jewish Press, The True Human Meanings Of A Nuclear Iran, Louis Rene Beres, 8-13-08)

You may have read about Manhunt.net founders Larry Basile and Jonathan Crutchley (above right) in Michael Joseph Gross' OUT article entitled "Has Manhunt Destroyed Gay Culture?"

Crutchley's political leanings are pointed out near the beginning of the piece:

"Crutchley, a liberal Republican with a tight white beard, admits that he felt anxious during Manhunt’s first years, before his and Basile’s initial investment of $800,000 bore fruit. Now, seated at his desk and surrounded by giant photographs of body builders’ glutes, Crutchley says the company brings in at least $2.4 million per month -- almost $30 million a year -- not counting ad revenues, and prospects for growth are strong. Manhunt’s success measures the extent to which online cruising has changed gay urban social life. Is it changing gay politics too?"

Crutchley's right-leaning ways have been reported on before, in the Huffington Post, which reported on a contribution he made to the McCain campaign. Last week, Crutchley defended his contribution in the comments section of an April 2007 interview (which he apparently monitors) with Online Personals Watch:

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Topless in Sturgis

Meanwhile at a biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, John McCain appears to have volunteered his wife for a topless beauty pageant:

McCain felt so comfortable at the event that he even volunteered his wife for the rally’s traditional beauty pageant, an infamously debauched event that’s been known to feature topless women.

“I encouraged Cindy to compete,” McCain said to cheers. “I told her with a little luck she could be the only woman ever to serve as first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”

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Tuesday, July 15th, 2008...7:44 am

The Comedy Stylings of Shecky McCain

I made the mistake of watching Verdict yesterday where they had a John McCain sycophant go on and on about how McCain stuck by his principles when he bucked his party on immigration. He and the host failed to note that he was lining up with the president and the business community on the issue (not exactly “bucking” the folks in charge), and when the heat came down he didn’t even support his own bill that this guy was giving him credit for. But hey, he’s a maverick, right?

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In Arizona, we’ve seen a pattern of this sort of humor. Long time Arizonenses remember the “seizure world” comment that poked fun at the elderly, ironic now that he’s the oldest candidate for president (I guess it was inevitable that it would become ironic). I managed to dig up this gem from his 1986 race for US Senate, as quoted in the Tucson Citizen:

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’

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Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 07/11/2008

UPDATE 2:35 PM: After generally refusing to address the Times' questions, Rangel held a press conference today on what he called a "puzzling" story and released a lengthy statement strongly denying that there is anything inappropriate about his housing situation. Rangel's full statement is now appended to the end of this item.

ORIGINAL POST: We're all familiar with the usual categories of congressional scandal like "bribery" and "affairs," but perhaps we should add another bugeoning avenue for potential wrongdoing to the pantheon -- cheap rent.

The New York Times has a story today on the living arrangements of Rep. Charles Rangel (D), the longtime powerhouse in Empire State politics who chairs the Ways and Means Committee. Rangel rents four apartments in a fancy Harlem building, three of which he uses as a residence and the other as a campaign office. Because the units are rent-stabilized, Rangel's monthly payments are well below market rates.

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Candidates' Vices: Craps and Poker

The casino craps player is a social animal, a thrill seeker who wants not just to win but to win with a crowd. Unlike cards or a roulette wheel, well-thrown dice reward most everyone on the rail, yielding a collective yawp that drowns out the slots. It is a game for showmen, Hollywood stars and basketball legends with girls on their arms. It is also a favorite pastime of the presumptive Republican nominee for President, John McCain.

The backroom poker player, on the other hand, is more cautious and self-absorbed. Card games may be social, but they are played in solitude. No need for drama. The quiet card counter is king, and only a novice banks on luck. In this game, a good bluff trumps blind faith, and the studied observer beats the showman. So it is fitting that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, raked in so many pots in his late-night games with political friends.

For centuries, the nation's political leaders have loved their games of chance. Andrew Jackson owned fighting cocks and raced horses. Richard Nixon helped finance his first congressional race with his World War II poker winnings. Teddy Roosevelt noted that the professional gamblers he knew "usually made good soldiers." But even among this crowd, McCain and Obama are distinctive. For both men, games of chance have been not just a hobby but also a fundamental feature in their development as people and politicians. For Obama, weekly poker games with lobbyists and fellow state senators helped cement his position as a rising star in Illinois politics. For McCain, jaunts to the craps table helped burnish his image as a political hot dog who relished the thrill of a good fight, even if the risk of failure was high.