McCain Draws Fire From Jewish Groups

Has any Republican presidential candidate denounced McCain for his bigoted comments. McCain recently denounced Rush Limbaugh for his outrageous "phony soldiers" comment. He is no one to talk. Obviously this was an attempt to pander to the disenchanted religious right:

Several Jewish organizations criticized John McCain on Monday after the Republican candidate said he would prefer a Christian president over someone of a different faith.

In an interview with Beliefnet, a multi-denominational Web site that covers religion and spirituality, the White House hopeful was asked if a Muslim candidate could be a good president.

“I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith,” McCain said. “But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president.”

Maybe these comments are a desperate attempt to divert attention from his mediocre campaign finances:

John McCain will raise about $5 million for the quarter but still show well over $2 million in debt, according to two sources familiar with the internal tally.

Though far below what rivals Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are expected to report, the $5 million figure is better than what some in the McCain orbit had fretted about a few weeks ago. The Arizonan enjoyed a mini-surge of contributions following the solid media buzz he earned during his "No Surrender" tour last month.

Still, McCain's focus on doing retail politics instead of the sort of fundraising that his opponents did during the final, crucial month of the quarter (the only one where half your targets aren't on vacation) clearly cost him.