Department of Free Passes: Your Cheatin' Heart, Shirtless Edition
JMart over at Politico notes:
Liberals have been itching to get the issue in circulation for weeks, even more so after the John Edwards confession, and now a prominent Obama supporter has obliquely raised John McCain's admitted infidelity to his first wife.
Per ABC, Kirbyjon Caldwell, who is a close friend of the Bush family and officiated at Jenna Bush's wedding earlier this year, used a conference call organized by a new left-leaning Christian group to go there:"His marital history has been duly recorded," said Caldwell, referring to McCain, "and as recently as yesterday I think it is, our pastor from Saddleback, Rick Warren indicated that he would not feel comfortable voting for an adulterer and I don't know exactly to whom he was referring but I think the data speaks for itself, and again, at the end of the day, and I really appreciate you raising this because, at the end of the day again I think the American public deserves full revelation of the candidate's character and competency. Character and competency. So, whatever questions that should be asked that would give the voting public an indication as to who they are and what they've done should be fair game."
Asked by ABC's Tapper if he would have compunctions about voting for someone who had cheated on his wife, Warren said Thursday, "Absolutely I would. Absolutely I would. Because if you can’t keep your faith to your most sacred vow — 'til death do us part' — how in the world can I trust you to lead my family? My government? My nation? ... Absolutely I would. I think people first need to ask forgiveness and then earn trust back over time. Can trust be re-earned? Absolutely, but it takes time."
A McCain spokesman had no comment when asked about Caldwell's criticism.
JMart continues:
Caldwell also criticized McCain for jokingly saying he would have liked to enter his wife in a beauty contest at the Sturgis motorcycle rally. The affair can become risque, with tops and bottoms being removed, but there is no evidence that McCain knew that when he cracked the joke.
McCain's comment, Caldwell said, is "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."
Of course, both Obama and McCain will be at Warren's mega-church tomorrow.
But isn't it just a little disingenuous for JMart to give McCain and his campaign a pass for NOT KNOWING just how "risque" the activities in Sturgis can get? After all, there is pool reporting and news footage on various channels of scantily clad "ladies" dancing on the scaffolding above the stage where McCain appeared. The female pool reporter filed a story noting, cryptically, that she had been "invited" to display her wares New Orleans style in exchange for Mardi Gras beads. There were also several reports of topless women in the audience of McCain's speech.
The McCain campaign has a hissy fit over Obama going shirtless at the beach to body surf, but is blind to the bare-breasted biker babes bouncing in front of their candidate and his wife?
