I don’t know about the above statement but I do know that Columbus desired to fight Islam via a new trade route to the Indies. So the DISCOVERY of America is certainly linked to a desire to oppose Islam as the quote below shows:

“Your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians, and princes who love and promote the holy Christian faith, and are enemies of the doctrine of Mahomet, and of all idolatry and heresy, determined to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the above-mentioned countries of India, to see the said princes, people, and territories, and to learn their disposition and the proper method of converting them to our holy faith; and furthermore directed that I should not proceed by land to the East, as is customary, but by a Westerly route, in which direction we have hitherto no certain evidence that any one has gone.”
from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/Columbus1.

I wanted to respond to your assertion that Jesus will return and solve all problems. I believe that He will, but not anytime soon.

I do not believe, however, that Christians can count on Jesus to solve our problems, here and now. We must evince a healthy regard for the Constitutional principles upon which this nation was founded, and a respect for individual rights. If Christians don’t do that, if we “worship” the government and seek to bend its power to our ends, we risk falling into idolatry and laying a foundation upon which many individuals will be deceived.

2. The belief that Jesus will return and solve all problems seems to me to be the worst kind of pipe dream, at the time when the West can least afford any kind of wishful thinking.

4. I still haven’t heard any comment about the marginalization of the anti-Jihad efforts because of association with this kind of lunacy.

It is actually not that unusual for Bible-believing Christians, including Pastor Hagee, to give some thought to conditions currently unfolding in the world with respect to biblical prophecy about the end times. It is not particularly strange to suggest that the Antichrist will come from Europe, or indeed, be the head of the European Union. European Christianity is very weak at this time, which is why my church and many others send missionaries there. European youth hunger for values upon which to base their lives, and European Muslims provide such “values,” non-Western in the extreme. This fact underscores the continued and absolute need for Christian missions to Europe.

In the nuclear age, that “fascination” you speak of with the Book of Revelation is not only helpful, but essential. If we truly understand that times are not only tough, but biblically-ordained, Christians like me might be more successful spreading the Gospel message to those who have not yet heard it.

Commentators such as Keith Olbermann appear not to understand the biblical basis behind Pastor Hagee‘s remarks. Anderson Cooper understands even less. Both commentators, and their colleagues, could do Americans a favor by at least attempting to gain some knowledge of the foundations upon which such comments are made. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

Ayn Rand wrote: “To say that your position is based on faith is to imply that reason is on the side of your opponent” She was talking about a defence of capitalism, but I submit it applies to discussing Islam. It just marginalizes and discredits the anti-Jihad movement. [This assertion is simply wrong; she was talking about religion being rubbish, irrational.–IM]

As I said before, the religious right have been crying wolf about all sorts of nonsense – gays, secularism, wicca etc. – and now, when the real wolf is before the door, they find they’re not taken seriously. Surprise, surprise.

Every candidate has to deal with a few endorsements they have to later distance themselves from. It’s not a reason for me to withold my vote from McCain (I have plenty more reasons to do that!).