John McCain scored the endorsement of a major mega-church mullah in John Hagee this week, and this "McCain Embraces Bigot" press release suggests that the Catholic League would probably rather he hadn't.

The League is not at all fond of Hagee's referring to the Catholic Church as "the Great Whore" or his instructive presentation on the coming apocalypse which graphically equates the Church to a floozy riding atop of a three-headed anti-Christ. Though the release makes no mention of Hagee's many other gems, his mock slave auction fundraiser and his assertion that all Muslims "have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews" might also justify the organization's bigot charge.

But these sorts of things apparently hold great appeal with many Texans, making the Hagee endorsement desirable to McCain in these final days before the state's primary.

Mike Huckabee, who calls Hagee "a friend" and made an appearance before his flock during the holidays, said this morning that he's "shocked and disappointed" by the McCain endorsement. But as Hagee's fanatical support for Israel shows, he's inclined to side with the people who are most likely to bring about the return of Jesus Christ by instigating an apocalyptic conflagration with Iran.

If you'd like to watch him lay out his jeremiad on Iran while a crowd including Tom DeLay and meth/gay hooker aficionado Ted Haggard sits in rapt attention, just click here. And then please pray to Jesus and Kirk Cameron for the non-evangelical moderates in the Republican party.