Penetrating Insights into the Obvious
Posted on 08/19/2008 5:01:54 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The hands-down winner of Saturday evening's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency was John McCain. The loser was American secularism. As for Barack Obama, well, let's just say it was his most_Dukakis-y performance_yet.
While commentators have made much of how "nuanced" Obama was in his responses to Pastor Rick Warren's prompts, I think it would be better to describe him as "calm, even subdued." And let me not mince words: being nuanced, calm and even subdued is not necessarily the winning formula in front of a megachurch full of Evangelicals.
In mainstream Evangelical culture one testifies to the Glory of God exuberantly, unhesitatingly, with hands thrust heavenward, heart open wide and eyes scanning the horizon for possible indices of the Kingdom's coming. It looks like McCain, who will never be confused for a seminarian, figured that one out.
With his here-I-stand swagger he played to the galleys expertly (this is one of the first times I can recall where his opponent was not the overwhelming crowd favorite). Here is McCain delegitimizing the liberal 4/9 of United States Supreme Court. Here he is recounting that POW anecdote for the one zillionth time (but now he smartly adds that he and his gun guard "were just two Christians worshipping together"). Here he is reminding us that he is "saved and forgiven." Here he is talking about his church (an aside that reminds us that Senator Obama doesn't have a church).
But most of all he rehearsed his anti-abortion bona fides. With Obama conveniently playing the role of Pro-Choice Blue State Guy, the Maverick started sharpening the contrasts. This may well be remembered as the night that pro-Life Evangelicals finally understood what they should have understood 12 months ago: McCain delivers on this issue and has a quarter-century track record of doing so.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.washingtonpost.com ...
Especially when you factor in the source.
The “above my pay grade” remark was enough in of itself for contrast.
The liberals in general seem to be completely unhinged by l'affair Saddleback.
The writer wears the reader out. It is clear that he would have preferred another outcome.
It goes beyond Evangelicals. Americans want to hear blunt, no-nonsense answers rather than endless blathering to avoid a straight answer.
Most folks think Post-modernism is a stupid waste of time. It’s easy to navel-gaze over a beer after class, but most of us have jobs and families. We don’t want to have to sift through 15,000 words to figure out where a candidate is coming from.
Yeah, but he's sure right with the "Dukakisy" comment. I've been thinking ever since Saturday nite that the image of the oh-so-cool and oh-so-nuanced Obama, with his head leaning sideways and with his mouth barely concealing a smirk, was the Dukakis in the Tank moment of this campaign.
The Presidential Seal with those words next to it would do nicely.
And for all those hold-the-nose and vote for McCain people who just can't get themselves to go so far as to put a McCain sticker on their car.
it was lop sided! wasn’t it?
the remark is appropriate to people at a lower level; oba mao 8
makes big bucks and is one of the 100, a u.s senator.
and, inappropriate to a religious discussion.
When the pastor DOESN’T say GD AmeriKKKa and give prissy impressions of Hillary Clinton cryin’ like a typical white woman, Barry is lost in a big church.
I disagree. He got a standing ovation. I never get a standing ovation when I walk into church on Sundays.
Did anybody read the wacko comments about this article on the Newsweek/WaPo website?
The DUmmies and KosKids are there in full flower, obviously living somewhere in a parallel universe.
[You gotta see this stuff yourself, in order to understand how deranged most of these folks are! Just short of unbelievable!]
I can’t recall the last time any journalist took a liberal moderator on any of the debates to task for asking “unfair” questions of a Republican.
The forum for this event was in a church, it was not going to be a “secular” event.
The forum did not violate 501c rules as it sought out and got responses from the candidates of both major parties. THAT (a counter response) is the standard that is also pushed by the “fairness doctrine” of commercial enterprises that receive no tax-free status.
Under fairness doctrine, you don’t have to seek out a “credible” person to voice “the other side”. You could even have Hillary and Obama debate the war as long as one agrees to argue the “for” side of the issue.
This line reminds me of why I don't bother to listen to a Clinton speak. I'm not going to listen through a hundred sentences trying to pick out the one that might be true.
Margaret Meade wrote about the people of Samoa. The Washington Post and MSM write about Evangelicals with the about the same degree of understanding. In both instances their is an artificial cleavage between the world as it is and the world as the liberal mind sees it.
It may have been his first step towards salvation away from the grifter pastor who he CLAIMS brought him to Christ.
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