Glenn Beck pointing northward

Glenn Beck is a strange man. Given to public weeping when he speaks of George Washington, Beck also believes that schizophrenia offers a good model for sorting through and discovering the true meaning behind the day’s news. A living refutation of the principle that low ratings should pose a barrier to career advancement, the erstwhile star of Headline News was recently offered a job at Fox after his contract negotiations with CNN foundered. According to The New York Times, CNN was looking to replace the usual 9 p.m. rerun of Beck’s program with a rerun of Lou Dobbs’ show, a swap that promised to be the journalistic equivalent of replacing a nightly colonoscopy with a nightly punch to the groin.

Yesterday, Glenn “Prove-to-me-that-you-are-not-working-with-our-enemies” Beck offered his long-awaited presidential endorsement.

It was weird.

I have looked at the other candidates. I don’t see any of them that have the fire in the belly. I don’t see any of them that actually believe in you, who actually is you, except Sarah Palin. So I’m going to pull the lever for John McCain and let the Lord sort it out. I want somebody that just, whose compass points north. Even though all these candidates think their compass points north, it doesn’t. It’s pointing east and some places it’s pointing south. In Barack Obama it is pointing south. He says that it’s pointing north, it’s to you, but it’s not. It’s to the government, it’s to Washington, it’s to the special interests. John McCain I think points somewhere maybe northeast. It’s in the right direction but it’s not right. Sarah Palin points to you. I’m casting my vote for Sarah Palin.

Just to be clear: It appears that Glenn Beck is praying that John McCain will win the election next week, but that God will miraculously intervene at some point in the near future to incapacitate him, or worse.