Free Republic

In the face of mounting controversy over headline-grabbing statements from Pastor John Hagee, CNN has learned presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has decided to reject his endorsement.

On Sunday, Aaron Klein and John Batchelor interviewed Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Prime Minister of Hamas, on WABC radio. The interview produced a scoop which, for some reason, has not been widely publicized: Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama for President. Yousef said, "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election." Why? "He has a vision to change America." Maybe Yousef has some insight into what Obama means by all these vague references to "change." Of course, Hamas's taste in American presidents is suspect. Yousef also described Jimmy Carter, who was about to pay...

FRIDAY'S GUESTS: Byron York of National Review (Fridays With Byron). Sen. Rick Santorum of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Rick Santorum Senior Fellow Rick Santorum, a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, established and directs EPPC's Program to Protect America's Freedom. He is writing a book on the "gathering storm" of the 21st century -- the challenges posed by radical Islamic fascism and its growing alliances around the world. Mr. Santorum served as United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995....

By now, readers will know who I favor in the Democratic race. Here's my most considered case. But what of the GOP? For me, it comes down to two men, Ron Paul and John McCain. That may sound strange, because in many ways they are polar opposites: the champion of the surge and the non-interventionist against the Iraq war; the occasional meddling boss of Washington and the live-and-let-live libertarian from Texas. But picking a candidate is always a mix of policy and character, of pragmatism and principle. And what these two mavericks share, to my mind, is a modicum of...