The Candidates at Saddleback

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. News cycle got kinda slow. I miss the good ol' days with Hillary Clinton. McCain seems to suck the fun out of politics despite his attempts at humorous ads. There's just an underlying cynicism and viciousness that underlies his politics.

Anyway, to the issue at hand, the candidates' appearance at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. I though Obama did quite well...if he was on Charlie Rose! McCain treated this as what it was, a political campaign appearance and a chance to pander for the Evangelical and Religio-Nationalist vote.

The only question that Obama really needed to ace, considering his audience, was the abortion question. I actually believe there are many people who want to vote for him but won't because of this. Now, you don't ace this by saying that "it's above your pay grade." What!? Just give a concise rational answer and focus on what you think is important to all people of good will--reducing the number of abortions regardless of whether you're pro-choice or pro-life. He eventually rambled towards that answer. Nuance doesn't play well in politics Obama. Compare with McCain's simplistic one line answers. Now, we all know life isn't that simple but professorial answers don't play well on the campaign trail. Just ask Al Gore and John Kerry!

Warren did a great job with the initial questions, but he needed some tougher follow up questions. McCain was getting too much time to wallow in his anecdotes and stump speech lines.

All things considered, I think this was a winner for McCain. I don't think Obama won any new support in the evangelical world, rather he reinforced the support of those like me who support him precisely because he is thoughtful and deliberative. McCain, on the other hand, probably won new support because his answers potrayed the world in black and white; how reassuring, if only life were so simple. Ultimately, this is an election for the simplifier-in-chief, so Obama needs to take off the well-worn professorial jacket. As the Mrs. noted, Hillary Clinton would probably have aced this test.