Bush's pastor rips McCain, endorses Obama

The African American pastor who presided over two inaugural ceremonies for President Bush and officiated at the wedding of President Bush's daughter has come out strongly against Senator John McCain.

In a conference call with reporters on Friday, Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a close friend to President Bush, questioned McCain's morality after the Arizona senator suggested recently he might enter his wife into a topless beauty pageant.

"Well, I don't know a lot about John McCain's family history, I do know, however, that as recently as last week I think it was, the senator made a comment in South Dakota regarding his wife entering some Buffalo Chips contest which is this topless deal and if she were to enter she would probably win it and my personal opinion and based on my understanding of the Christian faith, that's not, not, N-O-T, not the type of expression that a presidential candidate, or anyone for that matter who is a follower of the Christian faith, ought to make," said Rev. Caldwell.

The Ms. Buffalo Chip pageant is described on the Daily Kos web site as a "topless modeling contest, that among other things, involves a section with a banana."

Caldwell, the senior pastor at Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, used the example to illustrate what he said is a difference between McCain and Obama. "I don't know if that is a perfect case in point, but it surely does help to juxtapose the DNA of Senator Obama, if you would, versus the DNA of Senator McCain," said Caldwell.

Caldwell's conference call with reporters was sponsored by the Matthew 25 Network, described by ABC News as a liberal Christian Group planning to air a pro-Obama ad on Saturday during Rick Warren's religious forum with Obama and McCain.

Caldwell also questioned McCain about his infidelity in his previous relationship with his former wife.

After former presidential candidate John Edwards disclosed an extramarital affair earlier this month, ABC's Jake Tapper asked Warren if he would have reservations about supporting a candidate who had cheated on his wife. "Absolutely I would," said Warren. "Because if you can't keep your faith to your most sacred vow - ''til death do us part' -- how in the world can I trust you to lead my family? My government? My nation?"

Rev. Caldwell also told reporters that Senator McCain's "marital history has been duly recorded." Referring to Rick Warren's comments about infidelity, Caldwell said "I don't know exactly to whom he was referring but I think the data speaks for itself, and again, at the end of the day ... the American public deserves full revelation of the candidate's character and competency."

The Obama campaign did not respond to reporters about Caldwell's comments, but the McCain campaign dismissed the pastor's remarks. "These people are Obama campaign surrogates. These kinds of personal attacks are disgraceful. This absolutely exposes the hypocrisy of Obama's claim to represent a 'new kind of politics,'" said spokesman Brian Rogers

Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee also responded. "Sen. McCain has been very honest about his life and about not only who he was but I think very refreshingly who he is," he said. "And the one thing I find about Sen. McCain is that he is a man of honor."

An anonymous Republican strategist also told ABC News that the Obama people should "proceed with extreme caution." The unnamed strategist also made a thinly veiled threat to the Obama campaign. "They don't want to get into a discussion of character and background. They are opening a door that they will not be able to close. They are putting on the table issues and personalities that they do not want to discuss."