We’ve noted that for all of WorldNetDaily’s bluster about having, in Aaron Klein’s words, “one agenda: fierce independent reporting that exposes the truth,” there’s a marked refusal on WND’s part to cover John McCain as aggressively as Barack Obama. Nowhere is this disparity more starkly illustrated than in the area of pastors linked to candidates.
While WND has published article after article referencing Jeremiah Wright’s relationship with Obama and the various controversial statements he has made — a search of WND’s archive for Wright’s name generates 151 hits as of this writing — WND has not published a single news article about controversial statements made by John Hagee, a conservative pastor whose endorsement McCain sought. Indeed, there have been a mere two references to date to the controversy in any form at WND: a May 9 syndicated column by token liberal Bill Press noting that Hagee has been “given a free ride by the media” (and WND too, he might have added), and a May 6 column by Dennis Prager defending Hagee.
Why is that? Perhaps because WND is not so fiercely independent as it claims to be.
As we’ve noted, WND editor Joseph Farah appears to be a little too close to the situation, having previously called Hagee “my friend” in a 2007 column and published a column by Hagee for a time in 2002. WND’s online store also sells two Hagee-penned books.
Wouldn’t a “fiercely independent” news website be unafraid of reporting things regardless of its personal and business relationships? It seems that WND is not that website.
Will WND continue to remain silent on Hagee, even with his latest outrageous claim — that Hitler was doing God’s will to force Jews to move to Israel? Certainly that trumps much of what WND has reported about Wright. Certainly even Orthodox Jew Aaron Klein would be offended by that.
Or Farah may actually agree with Hagee — Hagee and Farah are buddies, after all. Silence equals assent, they say.
Will WND dare to touch this statement in any fashion? We shall see, but we won’t be holding our breath.