THE
PERFECT
DRIVEL
Lite
Posted on 08/16/2008 11:59:35 AM PDT by XR7
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — When John McCain and Barack Obama appear on the same stage today, they will vividly demonstrate the reach that has made the Rev. Rick Warren among the most significant evangelists of his generation.
He's a megastar who leads the nation's fourth-largest church and reaches thousands of ministers through the Internet and crusades against poverty and AIDS. That globe-trotting work and his successful book — "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" — puts him at the vanguard of a movement that inspires young, socially conscious Christians.
But his willingness to soft-pedal political issues once central to U.S. evangelicals, such as opposition to abortion, has opened him to criticism that he has strayed from his calling to spread the Gospel.
Today's forum also is a sign of religion's importance in the 2008 presidential campaign, and the emergence of a new style of evangelical leadership on the national stage that is not tied to a single party and has broadened its social agenda beyond that of the religious right.
"This is absolutely a changing of the guard, and it suggests that the new guard of the evangelical movement is able to generate the attention and focus of both parties," said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of "Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite."
Warren personally invited the two candidates — "friends of mine" — via their cellphones. His event at the Saddleback Church will be broadcast live on CNN and Fox News Channel and streamed on the Web. It has among its aims "helping the church regain credibility and encouraging our society to return to civility," he said.
It's likely that fans and critics will be watching closely...
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
“McCain does not appear nervous, while Barry was messing his pants.”
Interesting. I saw just the opposite.
“C’mon Nana....Have they asked John about amnesty yet?
Get to the hard questions! “
Never did, did he?
I hope he does not pick someone like Graham.
We have enough RINOS.
I was not very optomistic on the VP choice when he mention Huckster Huckabee.
A good VP choice will not help or hurt him, a bad VP choice (see pro amnesty RINO) will make today’s excellent performance meaningless.
McCain was animated, excited to be presenting himself. Obama was a picture of prozac.
Oddly enough, the DUers are convinced that Obama revealed more of himself than McCain did.
Funnily enough, they have a point: Obama revealed himself to be a bumbling fool.
Strongly agree. But I have to tell ya, Lindsey Graham would mop the floor with whomever is the Dem veep nominee. And Lindsey is staunchly pro-life and also capable of making adjustments in his policies. And on the issue of stepping in to take over at a moments notice, well only Mitt Romney would be more capable than Lindsey.
Saddleback - pro-aborts try to hide the truth,
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2063169/posts?page=1
The faux pas of the gang of ten on the heels of the gang of fourteen are definitely two major strikes against however.
Our own Bob corker is part of the Gang of 10...
I donned my protective suit and waded into the DUmp; seemed as if a lot of them were in a somber or angry mood.
Found a lot of people saying that it was a trap that Obama walked into or trying to justify that Obama didn't do any harm. A lot of people saying that it wasn't watched by many people (thus acknowledging that the "messiah" didn't meet expectations). A LOT of DUmmies are now whining that the pundits are giving McCain such good marks.
Found a few posters saying that Obama won the debate but they were few and far between. Clearly the DUmmies were thinking that Obama was going to outperform McCain, instead of it being the other way around.
I really hope not. Somebody needs to punch the clock on Slick Rick's 15 minutes in this race. He's not the face of Christianity. He's not "America's pastor". His role in this presidential campaign has been disproportionate enough already.
I'd like to see Jeremiah Wright or Father "Vanilla Ice" Flager moderate the next slow-pitch softball debate myself. That would be a lot of fun.
Scrumtrulescent!
Please, I was hoping to make it to bed without gacking tonight.
Obama could not bring himself to state that a baby’s human rights begin at birth!,
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063170/posts
NRO comments:
[Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Cancel the convention, if you ask me. Just keep replaying tonight and McCain wins. He was serious, self-confident, compassionate. He presented himself as a man who can inspire service.
During the one moment last summer I flirted with the idea of McCain for president, I wrote: “We’re in a war where we’re occasionally asked to shop to help the economy; we’re not hearing a real call to arms. We need one.”
John McCain can do that and it’s an important thing. It was one of the many advantages he displayed tonight. If John McCain keeps this up, he can win.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2UyZjQ2NjdlOTQxZjczNjAxOWI5M2FhZGIxOGY1ZDM=
McCain’s Best Performance of the Election Year [Jonah Goldberg]
I think Obama did very well (and he doesn’t need to win a majority of this audience, he merely needs to keep McCain’s support below typical trends). But this was McCain’s best performance in memory. For the first time I can think of in ‘08, at least, he comes across as the kind of guy a lot of conservatives can want to vote for, rather than merely settle for.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGUwYmQ2NmI5ZjU3NDg1MTUzMWZkM2NkNjNlNDM3ZTY=
That's a soft question- virtually any politician could say yes on that one, even if all they did was vote to reduce the usual annual increase in Planned Parenthood's budget to a smaller increase.
A hard question would be "Have you ever voted to end abortion."
Not much wiggle room in that for a candidate from either party.
Yeah, they wish ... their guy can’t put a coherent thought together without a teleprompter.
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