Florida Pastor Gets a Free Car For NOT Burning Korans

Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Race and Civil Rights

It was just a goofy commercial from an goofy car salesman in New Jersey, who offered controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones (pictured above) a new car if he dropped plans to publicly burn Muslim holy books.

But little did car dealer Brad Benson (pictured with car below) know that Jones would take him up on his offer.

So now, aside from a lot of publicity for not going ahead with with the stunt to burn Korans at his church, Jones will be driving around in a new 2011 Hyundai Accent, which cost more than $14,000 off the showroom floor.

Benson, a former professional football player with the New York Giants, has no one to blame but himself for the giveaway. From time to time, as part of a running radio commercial campaign, Benson offers new cars or "idiot awards" to news makers who have earned the public's disgust.

While Lindsey Lohan, Mel Gibson and Saddam Hussein have managed to pass up the offer (as if they really ever heard about it), Jones jumped on Benson's offer of a new ride.

It is sad how in this age of instant communications via 24-hour news programs and the Internet that a nobody with an idea can grab the world's attention.

Just 20 years ago, Jones could have stood on the gravel of his mostly vacant church compound and shouted to the world that he was going to burn Korans, and the silence would have been deafening.

But through his manipulation of the news media, Jones was able to tell a few reporters of his planned stunt and have the news travel to the other side of the world, where it triggered mass protests and rallies in Muslim nations.

National leaders on up to President Barack Obama were compelled to discourage Jones from following through with the publicity stunt that threatened to incite violence against U.S. armed personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Amazing.

I bet Jones never dreamed his little scheme would work out this well.

For a few days, he grabbed the attention of national leaders.

And now he has a new set of wheels.

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