On the May 12 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, while discussing the controversial religious leaders associated with presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, Michael Savage stated that Rev. Rod Parsley, a McCain supporter and senior pastor of the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, has made “some inflammatory statements of which I agree with 100 percent.” Savage then played a clip of Parsley, who has reportedly called McCain a “strong, true, consistent conservative,” and who McCain has reportedly referred to as “a spiritual guide,” in which Parsley stated: “I do not believe our nation can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I'm not shrinking back from its implications. The fact is that America was founded -- I'm gonna stagger you right now -- America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed. And I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.”

Later, Savage played another clip in which Parsley said: “Why is marriage under attack? Why is the family coming under such brutal attack of the forces of darkness? In essence, the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2003, legalized the perverted act of sodomy. And we said nothing. This is not about homosexual rights or lesbian rights; this is about the destruction of the very covenant. They are seeking to redefine marriage. In other words, they are intending to pervert God's original intention.”

Savage also asserted that “the libs are gonna run with this” and later stated: “This could backfire on the libs. They're, you know, they're desperate to use any dirt they can get, but this is not dirt. This is gold. I think they should play Parsley even more -- it'll bring more people around to McCain.”

In a March 12 article, Mother Jones Washington editor David Corn noted that Parsley endorsed McCain on February 26 at a campaign rally at which they both appeared. Corn reported that Parsley called McCain a “strong, true, consistent conservative,” and that McCain referred to Parsley as “a spiritual guide.”

As Media Matters for America has noted, the media have largely ignored McCain's association with Parsley.

From the May 12 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Now, we have something that I think you're gonna really appreciate, and that is John McCain's spiritual adviser, Rod Parsley. And he makes some inflammatory statements of which I agree with 100 percent. Now, the libs are gonna scream that McCain's reverend problem is equal to that of Obama's Reverend Wright problem -- and, of course, they're lying. That's what liberals do for a living. And the difference is that John McCain's spiritual adviser, as you'll soon hear, what he says, 80 percent of Americans will agree with, while the reverse was true with Revered Wright. Number two, this reverend for McCain loves America, unlike Obama's reverend, who hates America. So listen to clip seven.

PARSLEY [audio clip]: I do not believe our nation can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I'm not shrinking back from its implications. The fact is that America was founded -- I'm gonna stagger you right now -- America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed. And I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.

SAVAGE: Now, of course, the libs are gonna jump in and say that they believe in Islam, because most of them would believe in anything except Christianity, as you well know. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, today they're friends now. Parsley, the spiritual adviser to John McCain, also in clip nine says again things that 80 percent if not more of Americans would agree with. Listen to 09.

PARSLEY [audio clip]: Why is marriage under attack? Why is the family coming under such brutal attack of the forces of darkness? In essence, the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2003, legalized the perverted act of sodomy. And we said nothing. This is not about homosexual rights or lesbian rights; this is about the destruction of the very covenant. They are seeking to redefine marriage. In other words, they are intending to pervert God's original intention.

SAVAGE: Now, the libs are gonna run with this. The problem they're gonna have is that most Americans agree with Reverend Parsley, while most Americans disagreed with Obama's reverend. And the reason I know that to be true is because in the 16 states where same-sex or homosexual marriage was put up as a ballot initiative, in every state the people said no. When the people are asked their opinion, they agree with Reverend Parsley. They certainly don't agree that this is the U.S. of KKK -- that's something only the Obama worshippers would love. The phone number here is 1-800-449-8255. The website is michaelsavage.com, where we have great stories.

[...]

SAVAGE: I see. So it's even 50 -- it's not even the same thing as Obama with Reverend Wright, who married Obama and baptized his children. So it's not like McCain has sat there for 20 years. By the way, I agree with Rod Parsley, incidentally.

CALLER: I do too.

SAVAGE: And 80 percent of America would agree with Rod Parsley, and 95 percent of America would disagree with Reverend Wright and Obama's pastor. So, that's a given. This could backfire on the libs. They're, you know, they're desperate to use any dirt they can get, but this is not dirt. This is gold. I think they should play Parsley even more -- it'll bring more people around to McCain.

CALLER I agree.

SAVAGE: Thanks. That's all.