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Tonight, Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes did a segment about the supposed “fall out” over Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) minister’s connections to Rev. Louis Farrakhan. During an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton, Sean Hannity argued that Obama should distance himself from his minister and denounce his associations with Farrakhan.
But when Sharpton challenged Hannity to similarly condemn the anti-Semitic statements of Rev. Billy Graham, Hannity claimed to have no knowledge of Graham’s anti-Semitic past and warmly praised the minister.
Despite Hannity’s ignorance, Graham’s anti-Semitic comments were widely publicized in 2002, after the National Archives released transcripts of conversations between Graham and President Richard Nixon. Graham, who has since publically apologized for his remarks, made the following statements during a 1972 meeting in the Oval Office:
GRAHAM: This [Jewish] stranglehold [on the media] has got to be broken or the country’s going down the drain.
NIXON: You believe that?
GRAHAM: Yes, sir.
NIXON: Oh, boy. So do I. I can’t ever say that, but I believe it.
GRAHAM: No, but if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something.
[…]
GRAHAM: A lot of Jews are great friends of mine, but they don’t know how I really feel about what they’re doing to this country.
Hannity’s selective disgust with anti-Semitism exposes his true motives. His charges are part of an orchestrated conservative smear campaign designed to portray Obama as a radical. In reality, Obama has repeatedly denounced Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic remarks and has said that he sometimes disagreed with his minister.
Even Dick Morris, who appeared after Sharpton, criticized Hannity for trying to smear Obama with “guilt by association.” But Hannity remained undeterred, arguing that his attacks against Obama would allow the McCain campaign to focus on the issues and “stay away from this other stuff.”