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McCain Advised On Catholic Issues By Former Bush Adviser Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) courts the Catholic vote, “part of a larger effort to build bridges with religious voters,” The New York Times reports today that his “informal adviser” on Catholic outreach is Deal W. Hudson. In 2004, Hudson advised Bush-Cheney ’04, serving as “the architect of a Republican effort to court Catholic voters.”

But Hudson was forced to resign after “accusations of sexual misconduct,” as the Times reported on August 19, 2004:

‘’No one regrets my past mistakes more than I do,’’ Mr. Hudson wrote in a column posted yesterday on the online edition of National Review announcing his resignation.

‘’At the time, I dealt with this in an upright manner, and the matter was satisfactorily resolved long ago,’’ he wrote, without specifying the accusations. Mr. Hudson, 54, said he had been happily married to his current wife for 17 years. Called for comment, he declined. […]A person involved with the university’s investigation said that a freshman in one of Mr. Hudson’s classes reported to the university that, after she had become drunk at a bar, Mr. Hudson made sexual advances toward her. After a period of weeks, she charged him with sexual harassment. The accusations were made near the end of a school year, and Mr. Hudson left academia.

Hudson’s ties to the Bush administration are extensive. He reportedly said of Karl Rove after the 2000 election, ‘’I have to be careful what I say because I might make him sound like he is God or something.’’

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McCain has come under fire from Catholics for seeking out and accepting the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, who had previously referred to the Catholic Church as “the Great Whore” and “anti-Christ.” A search of McCain’s campaign website returns one result for Hudson.

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