McCain: Gay general tied to Clinton

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- CNN should have revealed that a retired general who asked about gays in the military at the Republican debate is a Clinton backer, John McCain said Thursday.

Brigadier Gen. Keith Kerr, a co-chair of a veterans group that supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, came out as a homosexual when he retired after 42 years in the military, The Washington Times reported. At Wednesday night's debate, he asked candidates for their position on gays in the military and then said that he thinks members of the U.S. military are "professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians."

"I think that should have been revealed," the Arizona senator said of Kerr's ties to the New York senator. "I think that should have been made public if this individual was a member of another -- any other campaign, then people would, obviously, have a better way of judging the quality of the question."

David Bohrman, who produced the debate for CNN, said that Kerr would not have been selected to ask a question if his political affiliation had been known.