Hate Radio Host Turns on McCain

By Eric on February 27, 2008

“Hate radio” host Bill Cunningham supported John McCain yesterday. In fact, he supported McCain so much that McCain’s campaign asked him to fire up the crowd before McCain spoke at a rally in Ohio.

So he did.

Mr. Cunningham lambasted the national news media, drawing cheers from the audience, as being soft in their coverage of Mr. Obama compared to the Republican presidential candidates, declaring they should “peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama.”

He went on to say, “At one point, the media will quit taking sides in this thing and start covering Barack Hussein Obama.”

Apparently, disparaging McCain’s opponent with the repeated use of the name “Hussein” wasn’t on the program, since it prompted an apology from McCain the same day:

“Whatever suggestion that was made that was any way disparaging to the integrity, character, honesty of either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton was wrong,” Mr. McCain said. “I condemn it, and if I have any responsibility, I will take the responsibility, and I apologize for it.”

Mr. McCain called Mr. Obama a “man of integrity” and said he was someone he had come to know “pretty well and I admire.”

He also said that it was not appropriate to invoke Mr. Obama’s middle name.

“I absolutely repudiate such comments,” Mr. McCain said. “It will never happen again.”

Well, Mr. Cunningham didn’t seem to appreciate being “repudiated” by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee–after all, loyal Republicans are hate radio’s bread-and-butter listeners–so Cunnigham went on the offensive (albeit without being nearly as offensive) against McCain.

“John McCain threw me under a bus — under the ‘Straight Talk Express,’ ” Bill Cunningham told CNN on Tuesday, referring to McCain’s campaign bus.
…
Cunningham said McCain “ought to attack Democrats and quit attacking conservatives like me.”

“I, for one, regret that John McCain is the nominee of the conservative party,” he said.
…
Cunningham also disputed McCain’s contention that the two had never met, saying he has met the senator twice.

“But I’m not going to meet him again. I’ve had it up to here with John McCain. I’m joining Ann Coulter in supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton,” he said.

I, for one, am happy to see McCain repudiate hatemongers like Cunningham, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and company. Let’s just hope that once he has the nomination wrapped up, McCain continues to reject the politics of fear and hate. Maybe I’m too cynical, but I doubt he will.

Update: Even Karl Rove thinks the GOP’s obsession with Obama’s middle name is a bad idea.

Tags: 2008, Bill Cunningham, hate radio, John McCain

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