Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency

Saddleback Showdown: McCain Wins Non-Debate

Tonight a historic event occured. A major political forum was held in an evangelical church moderated by an evangelical pastor. It was a testimony to the illegitimacy of the notion of separation of Church and State. Rick Warren did an excellent job tonight in interviewing the two major political party presidential candidates.

[You could almost see the ACLU, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way sitting around their TVs enjoying their popcorn and peanuts and plotting how to sue Saddleback Church and Rick Warren for daring to expose America and the world to truth.]

I was not expecting the tough questions that were asked. I was skeptical that any hard questions would be asked. I was pleasantly surprised in the variety and the depth of the questioning. This format was much better and more informative than any debate format held so far this campaign. It was not a debate but very much more informative. Each candidate got the same questions in their hour-long opportunity. The three areas of question were: Leadership, Worldview and Foreign Policy – Americans Responsibility in the World.

Although I care very little for either Barack Hussein Obama or John Sidney McCain as candidates, the overwhelming “victor” in this forum was McCain. Obama seemed to evade or stumble as he ran from several of the questions – he beat around the bush, McCain jumped on the question and answered them straightforwardly and more succinctly.

MAJOR CONTRASTS

I think that the contrasts were very clear.

Abortion – Obama would not answer the question of when human life or human rights begin in a person. McCain waffled on embryonic stem cells but expressed somewhat of a pro-life stance.

Marriage – Obama said he supported one-man, one-woman marriage but was for civil unions. Elsewhere he made the statement that he opposed the California Proposition 8 which defined marriage as between one-man and one-woman. Obama was deceitful on this issue. McCain said he was for traditional marriage, but he stated that he would not be in favor of a constitutional amendment unless same-sex marriages where forced on his state of Arizona.

Education – Obama favors raising base salaries for all teachers and further rewarding excellence. McCain said that bad teachers should find jobs in other professions. McCain would favor merit pay for teachers as well as a variety of choices in schooling of children – namely vouchers, charter schools, etc.

Further, I was impressed with the discussion surrounding the definition of rich. Obama said he would not tax anyone making less than $150,000, but would tax the rich who made $250,000 or more. One the other hand, McCain said he would not raise taxes on anyone. Taxation serves as a disincentive to economic growth and stimulation. To Obama it is a way to pay for programs he feels are needed.

One more telling line of questioning was one of the first questions of the interviews, which was something to the affect of ‘what persons do you admire most.’ Obama said is wife, Michelle. While McCain named General David Petraeus, for what he did in turning around the War in Iraq.

POST FORUM PRESS CONFERENCE

I listened in on the press conference following the 2 hour program. The four evangelical leaders agreed that McCain came across as the winner. However, some were concerned whether he might retreat from his strong conservative statements as he has done in the past. If he does it will hurt him more then help him in the long run. It was also pointed out that whoever McCain selects as his running mate will also affect the long-run benefit of his strong showing this evening.

SUMMARY

McCain was indeed the clear winner tonight. He showed his ability to think on his feet, he demonstrated more maturity, wisdom and experience in his answers, than did Obama. On the issues most important to me: abortion, protection of traditional marriage, national security including domestic energy development, and the selection and nomination of judges, McCain was right, while Obama was hopelessly wrong. Clearly voters have a choice. I just hope that voters see through the smokescreen that Obama throws up to hide his true beliefs especially about marriage and see what Obama really stands for – advancing a Marxist anti-American agenda.