Actually, Hagee was a founder of Christians United for Israel and the first non-Jew named "humanitarian of the year" by the San Antonio B'Nai B'Rith. Donahue, his former adversary, called Hagee "the strongest Christian defender of Israel I have ever met." But McCain, who held his fire reacting to Hagee's anti-Catholic remarks, had no patience with less clear evidence of anti-Semitism.

Hagee tried to pre-empt McCain by withdrawing his endorsement, but the candidate beat him to the punch by disavowing him (along with another mega-church supporter, the Rev. Rod Parsley of Columbus, Ohio, because of harsh words about Islam). Hagee's telephone lines became clogged with calls from worshippers asking whether they should vote for McCain. Hagee replies he really does not know, but asserts to friends that McCain "threw me under the bus."

A prominent Christian ally of McCain's can understand reluctance to make a pilgrimage to Colorado Springs, with no assurance Dobson would endorse him or even restrain his criticism. But this evangelical sees the treatment of Hagee as a cold calculation to make sure McCain would not lose the Jeremiah Wright issue.

McCain strategists are encouraged by polling data that shows their candidate much more popular with rank-and-file conservatives than with their leaders (more than nine to one against Obama among self-identified conservative Republicans). The McCain strategy is to paint Obama in the White House as a daunting prospect. It maintains that while the Republican candidate is no day at the beach, his Democratic opponent would be a weekend in hell -- even if James Dobson and John Hagee do not agree.

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The McLaughlin Associates nationwide poll in my last column indicating 49 percent for John McCain and 38 percent for Barack Obama referred only to white women. Among all women, it was Obama 45, McCain 43.