Compelled By Reality

Saddleback Forum: McCain vs. Obama

Filed under: Blogging, Politics

As most of you know Saturday night Rick Warren of Saddleback Church hosted a civil forum between the two Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. There has been some controversy over Warren’s involvement in hosting the forum, however after the debate it seems that much of that has subsided and from my perspective it was a very well hosted forum by Pastor Warren.

I thought the idea of having the candidates interviewed by Warren individually, asking them the same exact questions, but without either hearing their opponent’s answers was brilliant. It gave us as viewers the ability to compare apples to apples. This really brought out the differences in the candidates responses and approaches to the issues.

This is what Pastor Warren has stated as the goals of this forum:

Although Rick Warren’s primary calling is to proclaim the Gospel Truth of salvation in Jesus Christ, he created the Civil Forums to further three additional life goals: helping people accept responsibility, helping the Church regain credibility, and encouraging our society to return to civility.

Obama came off very conversational, and I did find him very compelling. He definitely answered the questions from a post-modern point of view, wanting to find balance from all points of view. McCain came off very decisive, sometimes answering the questions before the questions were finished. McCain was a story-teller, bringing the audience into his life through stories.

Overall I thought Obama’s performance in this forum was good, but McCain’s was great. I think much of the expectation was on Obama’s flair, which did present itself, but the country was not ready for McCain’s positions, decisiveness, and his compelling stories. McCain was on his game Saturday. He also really won over the Saddleback crowd that was at the event.

McCain did flounder on one issue, which was the issue of the definition of “rich”. He stated that 5 Million was considered rich, and Obama stated anything over $250,000 was rich. But with McCain’s responses to abortion “at the moment of conception” and being Pro-Life, being very strong in his selection of conservative pro-life judges, and extremely strong in Foreign Policy and National Security, he really came off well after this forum. However, Obama’s personalization of his relationship with Jesus Christ will bode very well with Christians. I believe this will confuse many young evangelicals who are taken in by his charisma, his age and his platform of “change.”

This is what Pastor Warren has stated as the goals of this forum:

Although Rick Warren’s primary calling is to proclaim the Gospel Truth of salvation in Jesus Christ, he created the Civil Forums to further three additional life goals: helping people accept responsibility, helping the Church regain credibility, and encouraging our society to return to civility.

Here are a few of what I thought were the highlights:

Question: I’ve seen a lot of good legislations get killed because of party loyalty. Can you give me an example of where you went against party loyalty and maybe even went against your own best interest for the good of America?

Obama: Well, I’ll give you an example that in fact I worked with John McCain on and that was the issue of Campaign Ethics Reform and Finance Reform.

McCain: You know by a strange coincidence I was not elected Miss Congeniality in the United States Senate this year. I don’t know why… Climate Change, Out of Control Spending, Torture. The list goes on and on a large number of issues that I’ve put my country first and I’ve reached across the aisle.

Question: What’s the most significant position you held ten years ago that you no longer hold today, that you flipped on, you changed on because you actually see it differently?

Obama: I think that a good example would be the issue of welfare reform where I always believed that welfare had to be changed. I was much more concerned ten years ago when President Clinton initially signed the bill that this could have disasterous results… it worked better than I think a lot of people anticipated and you know the one thing that I am absolutely convinced of is that we have to have work as a center piece of any social policy.

McCain: Offshore Drilling. We’ve got to drill now and we’ve got to drill here and we’ve got to become independent on foreign oil. I know that there’s some here in California that disagree, that disagree with that position. Could I also mention very seriously about this issue of my friends you know that this is a national security issue much we’re sending $700 Billion dollars a year to countries that don’t like us very much, that some of that money is ended up in the hands of terrorist organizations much we cannot allow this greatest transfer of wealth in history and our national security to continue to be threatened.

Question: What does it mean to you to trust in Christ and what does it mean on a daily basis?

Obama: As a starting point, it means I believe in that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through Him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don’t walk alone, and I know that if I can get myself out of the way, that I can maybe carry out in some small way what He intends. And it means that those sins that I have on a fairly regular basis hopefully will be washed away. But what it also means, I think, is a sense of obligation to embrace not just words but through deeds the expectations that God has for us. And that means thinking about the least of these. It means acting — well, acting justly and loving mercy and walking humbly with our God…

McCain: Means I’m saved and forgiven and we’re talking about the world. Our faith encompasses not just the United States of America but the world. (REALLY GREAT VIETNAMESE STORY WHERE A VIETNAMESE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER MADE THINGS EASIER FOR HIM AND IN A SMALL WAY THEY WORSHIPPED GOD TOGETHER).

Question: Let’s Deal with Abortion. 40 Million abortions since Roe v Wade. Some people who believe that life begins at conception would say that’s a holocaust… At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?

Obama: Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade. But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical content to this issue…so that would be point number one. But point number two, I am Pro-Choice. I believe in Roe v. Wade and come to that conclusion not because I’m pro abortion, but because ultimately I don’t think women make these decisions casually. They wrestle with these things in profound ways…

McCain: At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year Pro-Life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States, I will be a Pro-Life President and this presidency will have Pro-Life policies. That’s my commitment…

Question: Does evil exist, and if it does do we ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it or do we defeat it?

Obama: Evil does exist. I mean, we see evil all the time. We see evil in Darfur. We see evil sadly on the streets of our cities. We see evil in parents who have viciously abused their children and I think it has to be confronted… Now, the one thing that I think is very important is for us to have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil, but you know a lot of evil has been perpetrated based on the claim that we were trying to confront evil… just because we think our intentions are good doesn’t always mean that we’re going to be doing good.

McCain: Defeat it. Couple points, one, if I’m President of the United States, my friends, if I have to follow Him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice… Of course evil must be defeated. My friends, we are facing the transcendent challenge of the 21st Century, radical islamic extremists. Not long ago in Baghdad, Al-Qaeda took two young women who were mentally disabled and put suicide vests on them, sent them into a marketplace and by remote control, detinated those suicide vests… and the central battle ground according to [General] David Petraeus and Osama Bin Laden is the battles — is Baghdad, Mozil and Iraq and we are winning and we are succeeding and our troops will come home with honor and victory…

Question: Which existing Supreme Court Justice would you NOT have nominated?

Obama: …Clarence Thomas…Scalia…I wil tell you that how I’ve seen [Roberts] him operate since he went to the bench confirms the suspicions that I had and the reason that I voted against him.

McCain: With all due respect, Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, Justice Souter and Justice Stevens. And by the way, Justices Alito and Roberts are two of my most recent favorites…

Question: Okay. Taxes… Define Rich… Give me a number. Is it $50,000, $100,000, $200,000?

Obama: …If you are making $150,000 a year or less as a family, then you are middle class or you may be poor… I would argue that if you are making more than $250,000 then you are in the top 3, 4 percent of this country.

McCain: I think rich is — should be defined by a home, a good job and education and the ability to hand to our children a more prosperous and safer world than the one that we inherited. I don’t want to take any money from the rich I want everybody to get rich… So I think if you’re just talking about income, how about 5 million.

Question: John, most people don’t know that there are 148 million orphans in the world growing up without parents. Could we do a pepfar for the emergency plan for 148 million orphans?

Obama: [Didn't get to this question]

McCain: Well I think we have to make adoption a lot easier in this country. That’s why so many people go to other countries to get — to be able to adopt children… 17 years ago cindy was in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She went to Mother Teresa’s orphanage. The nuns brought her 2 little babies that were not going to live. Cindy came home. I met her at the airplane. She showed me this 5 week old baby and said meet your new daughter. She is 17 and our life is blessed and that’s what adoption is all about.

Tags: Barack Obama, Debate, Forum, John McCain, President, Rick Warren, Saddleback