UPDATE: I'll be on with Sam Seder at 2:05 PST)

Of course the media never critiques the Republicans over their relationship (should I call it a marriage?) to the extreme religious right in the same fashion as they do all Democratic politicians. There's an incredibly tough double standard in play here. We've tried to get them to do it, but they even ignore McCain's new relationship with Pastor Hagee for the most part. Should we produce commercials about that? McCain's Media is going to be a force to reckon with in the fall. And Rangel is a Clinton supporter if any of you are concerned with that fact.

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Blitzer: The criticism of Barack Obama is that what Jeremiah Wright said at the National Press Club, Congressman Rangel, was no different than what he's been saying for some time, and he should have known that these controversial remarks would be made. Is this explanation that Senator Obama is making good enough for you?

Rangel: It's disgraceful that he has to make any explanation for anything. The intrusion of the media and Republicans into the sacred relationship that worshipers have with their spiritual leaders I think is going to come back to haunt us. To think that we have to go into the lives and the beliefs of Rabbis and Priests and ministers and Imams is absolutely ridiculous. We've got a war on. We've got an economy that's splintered. I think the media should be more responsible and start dealing with those issues. I don't think many people care what reverend Wright thinks and I don't see why any candidate should have to explain what ..

Blitzer: But Congressman, even Senator Obama last Sunday said this was a legitimate issue given the nature of -- He wants to be President of the United States. If there's a right wing politician, let's say a Republican politician that has an extraordinarily close relationship with a pastor who is making outrageous statements has been a member of that church for 20 years. Wouldn't that be fair game?

Rangel: Of course not. Of course he's a candidate. He doesn't want to take all of you on and I'm probably over the hill but the truth is that you guys know that his beliefs have nothing to do with someone that went to the church, and if we've got to get into the Jerry Falwell's and into the Robertson's and to the number of people who have what appears to other religions to be bizarre beliefs we'll never get to the issues that Americans were concerned about. I know that every American is more concerned with who is going to be a better Presidential candidate and a better President more than they are on anything that happens in the church that Senator Obama went to.

The Republicans have made it their mission to pander to extremists in religion so with Wolf's logic why then hasn't Blitzer ever gone after all the Republicans who are aligned with them? Because of a terrible double standard in the media. McCain's Media strikes again.

billw made the videos and says: Even though the media is still trying to fixate on Obama's pastor, there are already plenty of signs Rep Rangel is right. A recent NBC-WSJ poll indicated that voters are much more concerned with McCain's close ties to the Bush administration and its policies, and the cash-strapped NRCC just spent more than $53,000 running attack ads trying to link Obama and Rev Wright to Don Cazayoux (D-LA), who won in a special election Sat in a solidly Republican district they had held since 1974, with the outgoing Rep. Richard Baker (R) having won with more than 70% of the vote in 2004, the last year he had a challenger.