THE COMPANY BUSH KEEPS

Yesterday The New York Times ran a story by David Kirkpatrick about support for Israel among evangelicals. Figuring prominently in the story was John Hagee:

As Israeli bombs fell on Lebanon for a second week last July, the Rev. John Hagee of San Antonio arrived in Washington with 3,500 evangelicals for the first annual conference of his newly founded organization, Christians United For Israel.

...Mr. Hagee read greetings from President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and dispatched the crowd with a message for their representatives in Congress. Tell them “to let Israel do their job” of destroying the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, Mr. Hagee said....

The next day he took the same message to the White House....

Administration officials say that the meeting with Mr. Hagee was a courtesy for a political ally....

I wish Kirkpatrick had mentioned the fact that Hagee, at a pre-election rally on November 5 that was attended by Governor Rick Perry and many other Texas politicians, said that non-Christians are "going straight to hell with a non-stop ticket."

I also wish Kirkpatrick had managed to mention the sequence of events Hagee believes will follow the attack on Iran he so hopes for:

...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." ... The strike will provoke Russia -- which wants Persian Gulf oil -- to lead an army of Arab nations against Israel. Then God will wipe out all but one-sixth of the Russian-led army...

To fill the power vacuum left by God's decimation of the Russian army, the Antichrist -- the head of the EU -- will rule "a one-world government, a one-world currency and a one-world religion" for three and a half years.... The "demonic world leader" will then be confronted by a false prophet, identified by Hagee as China, at Armageddon, the Mount of Megiddo in Israel. As they prepare for the final battle, Jesus will return on a white horse and cast both villains -- and presumably any nonbelievers -- into a "lake of fire burning with brimstone," thus marking the beginning of his millennial reign....

This is a man Bush reaches out to. This is a man who has meetings at the White House.

And they said Ned Lamont went over the line when he accepted Al Sharpton's support.

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(Yes, I'm recycling material from this post.)