Subscribe by RSS
Both Barack Obama and John McCain have confirmed their attendance at a forum on Faith held by Rick Warren. This will not be a debate of sorts, more of a forum where the candidates will each appear separately for an hour.
Story from Yahoo News:
The Rev. Rick Warren is so prominent and respected that just being seen with him is a boon for any presidential candidate.
For Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, their appearances at a forum Saturday night at Warren’s evangelical California megachurch bring risks along with rewards.
The event will play to one of Obama’s strengths, talking about his Christian faith, but it will also underscore the gulf between his views and those of the most conservative Christian voters.
Many of McCain’s positions are more in line with the evangelical worldview, but he is uncomfortable — and some critics say unconvincing — while talking about his personal beliefs.
The candidates will appear separately, spending one hour each with Warren, before coming together on stage for a handshake. The pastor, who does not endorse candidates, will be the only one asking questions.
Warren is an anti-abortion Southern Baptist who is nonetheless part of a shift away from the religious right’s strict focus on abortion and marriage. The environment, poverty and education have also become pressing concerns, especially for younger evangelicals.
Warren is best known for building Saddleback Church into a 23,000-member megachurch in Lake Forest, Calif., and for writing the multimillion-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life.”
But he and his wife, Kay, are also leading advocates for HIV/AIDS victims worldwide. They have invested enormous resources in their PEACE Plan, now under way in Rwanda, which aims to combat corruption, illiteracy and other social problems through church partnerships with government and business.
A discussion of the forum from MSNBC:
It will be broadcast live this Saturday (8/16) starting at 8pm eastern time on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. I’m betting it will be on C-SPAN and broadcast online in several places as well. I will try to have the full video up if possible.
Visit the You Decide Politics Store »
Loading ...
Looking forward to this one. Somehow, BLT and Southern Baptist (of which I am one) seem like oil and water in faith based views, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Abortion will have to addressed here, no way around it, and that might tax Warren’s patience with Obama, but we’ll see if he lets it show.
Chuck Baldwin would put the others to shame if Warren invited him!
Here is the question I am most interested in.
Was anyone impressed by the “other” candidate ? If so why ?
McCain was better hands down than Obama. he was straight to the point and was very blunt with all his answers. Obama also forgot to mention to the evangelicals gathered there, that he is for partial birth abortion and also for the killing of baby after it has been born if the mother consents to it. Both are disgusting to even think of, let alone stand for.
I thought McCain did reasonably well, but I think that the way Obama handled his questions despite his differing viewpoints was impressive. McCain gave good answers, but given the types of questions and his audience, it wasn’t very difficult for him to express his viewpoints. In another setting, had he given the same performance, it’s unlikely he would have received as good of a reception to his answers.
After seeing this, I truly believe that Obama would be a better president because I think he would be capable of addressing the concerns of a wide variety of individuals of differing beliefs. However, I think I like McCain more- he has a warmth and sincerity about him, and many of his beliefs reflect my own.
Obama’s answer to the question of what to do with evil was BRILLIANT. Mccain was straight-forward but his answer on evil made me think twice about whether he will be creating more wars or trying to end the two we currently have. Obama’s answer was something thoughtful, where he mentioned evil at a LOCAL level, and how he thinks more about America and how we as Americans can confront evil. All Mccain seemed to care about was AlQaeda and the evil overseas, made us seem like we are so perfect and everyone else always has problems. Obama also mentioned that we have to be HUMBLE towards our confrontation with evil. I was all Mccain until I heard how both of them felt about this topic and now I’m a little more behind Obama. Don’t get me wrong, Mccain certainly brought more emotional appeal when he talked about adoption, abortion, and his war stories, however, I feel that Obama actually thought out his answers better and that one answer about evil really brought out how he will deal with wars and on an international level.
I think there was a clear winner in this expression on the Candidate’s beliefs. First of all, in their own style both answered adequately. Both came across as intelligent and sincere. The point of difference for me was the ability of McCain to speak from a straight forward approach in comparison to Obama’s political speak. By the time Obama was finished with each question, most would have forgotten what the question was. Fortunately CNN captioned it on the screen. This is common in Political circles where the answer is somewhat referred to after circling around it and often straying from the subject. Politicians seem to like to confuse and sound eloquent in doing it.
Obama’s major gasp did not go unnoticed either by any observant viewer. When asked when a human’s rights begin, Obama stated initially that was above his pay rate! Well, whether meant as a lightening of the subject or a quick attempt at humor it failed. One might ask Mr. Obama as President are there other key issues that would be above your pay rate? This proves what many Conservatives who appall Mr. Obama correct, ” Just let him speak without a tele-prompter and he will burry himself”
We as a Nation have many important issues and I want a man who is confident he is in the highest Nation’s authority to answer them.
It appears Mr. McCain was far more ready for that role than Mr. Obama !
“By the time Obama was finished with each question, most would have forgotten what the question was.”
Obama must have learned this technique from Hilary.
I didn’t see it but i expected Obama to tank bad. When he and Hilary did the compassion forum in the Primaries I felt Obama was stuttering so bad it was irritating. I’ve seen him do this in debates too. But not ALL OF THE debates just some of them. When he gets to stuttering it gives me a headache.
If he spoke more clear and free this time around and not like the last time then i give him credit for improvement. But looks like what i read above he now has learned the Hilary art of mystification which i really can’t stand. Did he do it the entire time or just on a few tough questions?
I believe most of u would come out of this interview as we went in. Obama did stammer around and although I know his viewpoints I would have been more impressed had he just stated them. I know he was in an environment that wasn’t “his” but his answers were so long that it made it hard to really grasp what he was trying to say.
Bob the only response I would have to what you said is that the President is the Commander in Chief which is very different from Attorney General. A presidential candidate, in my view, should have answered that question with a worldly focus. No president can make or enforce state law, which is the responsibility of each state and it’s prosecutors. I do agree we have our own criminal issues but they are not Presidential issues.
McCain looked good here, but your confidence and quickness at responding have no bearing on whether you will uphold the Constitution. How many times have you heard FAUX News focus on the Constitution? Mostly they focus on polls about how McCain needs to draw in certain constituencies. Most people know he has done acts the Founders would have considered capital offenses, including McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy. But, like with Eisenhower, the media praises McCain as a man of integrity who loves his country, despite the obvious warning signs.
Chris,
You do understand that Roosevelt ordered that troops mail be opened and censored in WWII right ? That is old world wire tapping.
And
President Lincoln is the ONLY president to suspend Habeas Corpus so that U.S. citizens, could be arrested by the military and held without trail for the mere suspicion of assisting the South.
You do also know that the Government can take your property under Imminent Domain just because they need a bigger tax base. You do know that the government tells it’s citizens when and where they can carry guns and the biggest constitutional violation of all You do know the government can just take your money and spend it as it pleases right ?
I assume you know all of this so with that said I have to ask where have you been now that you think McCain is going to destroy the constitution ?
Where I am from they may say your trying to close the barn door after the horse got out or maybe accuse you of being a day late and a dollar short.
Almost everything Franklin Roosevelt did was unconstitutional. My point, Todd, is that the socialist direction of America has been BUILDING since Woodrow Wilson, and with T. Roosevelt to an extent. When you look at the executive orders under George W. Bush, licensing the government to hold people without trials as potential “terrorists”, with “terrorist” being anyone who has a beef with the President, that’s nearly the end of the Constitution. And once McCain builds on that, we will be a country that prohibits free speech, freedom to assemble, and self-defense (2nd amendment). It is not a pretty picture when you look at McCain’s support for a union of Mexico, the US, and Canada. The people engineering that merging have designed a new constitution that would override the US one, a la the UN.
Chris,
I hear what you are saying but I believe you are slanting it toward your viewpoint. You have no knowledge that Bush wants people he does not like or has beef with treated as terrorist. You do have ample proof that terrorist have targeted America and several other countries, you are ignoring that in making your point.
You also fail to acknowledge that modern wars cannot be fought with 19th and 20th century tactics. I don’t think Hitler & Mussolini used e-mail and cell phones to discuss the plans they had to attack any country. This is what I don’t get about the entire argument anyway. Don’t get me wrong we must protect the constitution but we also must have the God given common sense to protect ourselves.
You are simply speculating about McCain’s effect on the country. Your assumption that freedom of speech and assembly will be eliminated and you are confusing Socialism with totalitarianism. Plus how do you put gun rights among your concerns. Democrats are the party who historically attempt to limit those rights.
Some of you guys seem to feel that a document written 270 years ago has to be followed to the letter now, like they even knew what cell phones were then. The constitution has been amended 25 times. If it can be amended to allow taxation for the government or to correct wrongs against minorities and women then it can be amended to protect all American’s from terror can it ?
God forbid it but IF we are attacked again and we could have stopped it I hope the American’s who lost family members understand your logic. Call it scare tactics or what ever you like but protecting against possible danger is just common sense, kinda like locking your front door when you leave the house.
Here’s the thing, though: if there are terrorists in America, the real solution is to stop the “gun control” restrictions and let citizens defend themselves. Instead of setting up “gun free” zones where the only people who can have guns are the US government guards, we should be armed as well. Instead of increasing surveillance on citizens through the PATRIOT Act and FISA, the US government would do better to free Americans to purchase weapons. I really don’t see how increased airport restrictions has helped protect any of us; to ban weapons aboard a plane makes us unable to defend against a hijacking once it occurs, which the airport guards wouldn’t expect.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/42458/ – Bush can label anyone a terrorist and have that person taken to prison.
Regarding McCain, it’s far from speculation that he is interested in ending our liberties. I can find the World Net Daily article if you’d like, the author of whom is a Navy chaplain. He got no help from McCain’s staff in defending religious freedom. But added to that are the tell-tale statements about how he considers anyone who opposes a “North American Federation” (or North American Union with a new Constitution) “behind-the-times”. It’s clear that he’s been spending so much time with La Raza and the Canadians in his campaigning because of that. But the most convincing aspect of McCain’s treason is the fact that, as reported by major news sources, he met with the Rothschilds in March on his worldwide tour. That doesn’t mean anything unless somebody knows the history of the Rothschilds. They are the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, and besides making and breaking Napoleon’s career, they engineer world politics by setting up the leaders they want, including Otto von Bismarck. Their goal is to eliminate national sovereignty, which they did through the League of Nations and subsequent NATO and UN. In that context, it’s clear that through their control over the media and vast wealth, they have manipulated public opinion in favor of McCain. The media was vocally complaining about having to expose Rev. Wright, but it resulted in a public perception of McCain as a patriot, as shown in the polls of that period. Hillary and Obama’s mudslinging made McCain look dignified by comparison. But perhaps the most influential thing that happened was the Rick Warren faith forum farce. Rick Warren, a one-worlder like McCain and Obama, asked questions in such a way that Obama looked unqualified and McCain looked uncompromising. But it’s far from the case when you look at McCain’s violation of his own law, McCain-Feingold, as well as the many flip-flops he’s done in 2008 alone.
Chris,
I just don’t understand where all this underground conspiracy stuff comes from. and I really don’t understand why/how people are so ready to believe it.
I agree with you to some degree on gun control but let me tell you from 1st hand experience, some people have no business with a gun.
One more thing, in my opinion the ability to carry a gun has never been stronger, for sane law abiding people. But it’s only useful to protect yourself from a burglary or robbery. Most terrorist have goals that are developed to maximize citizen deaths, they are not going to walk into a subway and announce they are there to kill and thereby give you time to shoot them. They are going to walk on a blow everyone up.
The days of citizens’ having guns in order to replace a corrupt or non representative government are over. The government is not worried about you having a gun so you can fight them, they have the laws and the weapons to make each of our houses a hole in the ground anytime they want to. Your assault rifle or pistol is no match for them now.
Oh yeah the statement about the media loving McCain, ask Hillary if she believes that.
And last I saw both candidates had the same questions in the forum so I don’t know where you come up with they were asked in a way to make one look better than the other.
Well I can tell you, Todd, that I wasn’t eager to believe “conspiracy stuff”. But when you look at how efforts to end illegal immigration are deliberately being hindered by our government, and that numerous economic crises have their origins in the oil barons, you can’t help but see the Federal Reserve in it. When we have a central bank called the Federal Reserve, owned by the Rothschilds, Rockefellers, and J. P. Morgan associates, there’s no telling what will happen to our economy or politics. The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said that the Fed was directly responsible for the Great Depression. And when you look it at objectively, those bankers who funded FDR’s campaign timed the creation of the Great Depression so he could push socialism on desperate Americans. Only during a severe economic crisis would Americans allow expanded government.
Anyway, I totally agree with you that those with criminal records should not be sold weapons. But I am very concerned about how the government is saying it’s going to protect Americans at home from potential terrorists through increased surveillance, especially given the fact that the government punishes those who stop illegal immigration and the terrorism it induces.
When I wrote that the questions were asked at the faith forum in such a way as to favor McCain, I mispoke: the questions were impartial, but the event was staged to make McCain look confident and Obama look more wishy-washy. The publicity and excitement that the faith forum generated really will minimize any resistance to McCain’s nomination at the convention.