Well, that's certainly a relief

Good news: The Reverend Jerry Falwell is no longer "an agent of intolerance."

That's right--the man who gave us, among many such moments, this classic bit of hate-thy-neighbor following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001--

"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

--no longer need be kept at arm's length from the Republican party (as if he ever had been).

And we know this because John McCain, a man who needs Falwell to become president, said so this morning. So that should pretty much settle that.

At DailyKOS, georgia10 has McCain's number:

What we saw in that interview was the death of McCain the Maverick, and the birth of McCain the Chameleon.

Damn straight. McCain made it clear: Time to kiss and make up with the Moral Majority "because they’re so active and their followers are." What they stand for may be just as unappetizing as ever, but remember how many volunteers and donors they represent for the 2008 primary!

It's past time to wean America--especially Democrats, Independents, moderate Republicans, and the news media-- of that McCain-the-Maverick dream. Over at the White House, the new byword is "Let Bush Be Bush (since nothing else is working either); I say, let the word also go forth: Let McCain Be McCain--

The Chameleon.

(Update: AmericaBlog has a perfectly reasonable follow-up question.)