Rosen failed to note McCain's solicitation of Hagee endorsement, allowed guest to repeat falsehoods about Obama's denunciation of Farrakhan

Summary: Newsradio 850 KOA's Mike Rosen and his guest, reporter Ronald Kessler of the conservative website Newsmax.com, misrepresented Sen. Barack Obama's position on an award given to Louis Farrakhan, and Rosen failed to note Sen. John McCain's solicitation of an endorsement by televangelist John Hagee. In fact, Obama stated that he disagreed with his church's decision to honor Farrakhan, and McCain stated that he was "glad to have" Hagee's endorsement.

On his April 24 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast, Mike Rosen asserted of televangelist John Hagee's endorsement of Sen. John McCain, "[Y]ou get endorsements from a lot of people when you're on the political campaign," and "you accept some people's endorsements with misgivings." While suggesting Hagee was merely one of "a lot of people" who had endorsed McCain, Rosen failed to note that, as Media Matters for America has documented, McCain acknowledged on the April 20 edition of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos that he solicited Hagee's endorsement and asserted that he's "glad to have" it.

Further, Rosen's guest, Newsmax.com chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler, supported Rosen's false claim that Sen. Barack Obama "is not on record ever criticizing" an award given to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan by Trumpet Newsmagazine, a publication founded by Obama's church. In fact, as Media Matters has noted, in a statement about the award Obama declared, "I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan." Obama further stated that Trumpet's honoring of Farrakhan "is not a decision with which I agree."

From the April 24 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Mike Rosen Show:

ROSEN: There's also this lame attempt to connect John McCain directly to Pat Robertson, or even more recently to that evangelical pastor John Hagee, who also endorsed McCain. You know, you get endorsements from a lot of people when you're on the political campaign. Some of them make you more comfortable than others. But politics is a strange collection of bedfellows, and you accept some people's endorsements with misgivings. In the case of John Hagee -- again, John Hagee was not John McCain's personal pastor and spiritual inspiration for 20 years. By a matter of significant degree, it simply isn't analogous to the relationship that Barack Obama has had with Jeremiah Wright. I mean, that's obvious to any rational person.

As Media Matters has noted, Hagee has made controversial statements about Hurricane Katrina, women, homosexuality, the Catholic Church, and Islam. On This Week, McCain stated that it was "probably" a mistake to solicit and accept Hagee's endorsement and asserted that "I condemn remarks that are in any way viewed as anti-anything." Nevertheless, McCain said: "I'm glad to have his [Hagee's] endorsement."

From the April 20 edition of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you say that he should condemn these comments. A lot of Senator Obama's allies and others say that you should condemn the comments of Reverend John Hagee, an evangelical pastor.

McCAIN: Oh I do. And I did. I said that those -- any comments that he made about the Catholic Church, I strongly condemn of course.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yet you solicited and accepted his endorsement.

McCAIN: Yes, indeed, I did. And I condemned the comments that he made concerning the Catholic Church.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're going to hold on to his endorsement. Your own campaign acknowledges that you should have done a better job of vetting Pastor Hagee. So was it a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement?

McCAIN: Oh, probably. Sure. But I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership of the -- of his church. I admire and appreciate his advocacy for the state of Israel -- the independence and freedom of the state of Israel. I condemn remarks that are made that has anything to do which is condemning of the Catholic Church. But --

[crosstalk]

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you no longer want his endorsement?

McCAIN: I'm glad to have his endorsement. I condemn remarks that are in any way viewed as anti-anything. And thanks for asking.

Later in the KOA broadcast, after Rosen stated that Obama's church under its former pastor, Rev. Wright, "gave an award to Louis Farrakhan," Kessler affirmed Rosen's statement that "Obama is not on record ever criticizing that":

KESSLER: Yeah. And, by the way, Louis Farrakhan has endorsed Barack Obama, and I don't hold that against Barack Obama, you know, it's -- people are free to endorse whomever they want. You know, in some cases the candidate says, "I reject it," and Obama did say that --

ROSEN: And we should note that the Reverend Wright's church gave an award to Louis Farrakhan.

KESSLER: That's something that I do hold against Barack Obama.

ROSEN: And Barack Obama is not on record ever criticizing that, is he?

KESSLER: No. In fact, he's lied about it. When I did the story reporting that, he came out with a statement to Jewish leaders in Cleveland that the award was given because of Farrakhan's work with ex-offenders. That was a total fabrication. Neither the award presentation nor the article about it ever said anything about ex-offenders, but rather quoted Reverend Wright as saying that Farrakhan is a wonderful leader, epitomizes greatness, his integrity and honesty are just magnificent. And it was, again, for lifetime achievement, not for work with ex-offenders. So that was my first indication that Obama, you know, will purposely dissemble in order to cover up what's going on. And as you indicate, he not only has not said that the award should not have been given, he should have left the church at that point.

Contrary to Rosen and Kessler's misrepresentation, on January 15 Obama issued a statement in which he "condemn[ed] the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan":

I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree.

—E.B. & J.F.B.