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Obama, McCain talking religion with Rev. Warren Differences stark as McCain, Obama woo evangelicals
LA Times via Chicago Tribune ^ | August 17, 2008 | Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta

Posted on 08/17/2008 5:34:46 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain briefly shared a stage at Rev. Rick Warren's cavernous Saddleback Church on Saturday night as they discussed what their faith means to them and highlighted their vastly different views on issues, none more stark than abortion.

In the two-hour forum, Obama said it was above his "pay grade" when asked to define when a baby gets human rights. But McCain quickly answered, "At the moment of conception."

The Republican senator from Arizona drew frequent applause from the nearly 2,800 members of the evangelical church in Orange County with crisp answers intended to reinforce his conservative credentials.

Obama, who spoke for the first hour, offered more nuanced and analytical answers on some of the issues important to conservative voters: abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research.

Role of faith Obama, who until recently attended the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, spoke more revealingly than McCain about his personal faith and its role in his life.

Explaining what it meant to him to be a Christian, the Democratic senator from Illinois talked of "walking humbly with our God": "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."

He paraphrased a line from the New Testament to answer Warren's second question about what had been America's greatest moral failure. "We still don't abide by that basic precept of Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me," Obama replied.

McCain, an Episcopalian who attends a Baptist church in Phoenix,

(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; ca2008; christianvote; evangelicals; mccain; obama; rickwarren; saddleback; warren
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I believe it is always important to read how a pro-Obama newspaper reports the Obamination last night.

The LA Times writers did lead off with Obama's statement that being president would be above his pay grade.

When Obama doesn't think he is qualified to be President, then why should anyone else.

When MSM says the Presidency is above Obama's pay grade, he is is deep doo-doo

1 posted on 08/17/2008 5:34:47 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Obama was telling everyone what he thought they wanted to hear. McCain was telling everyone exactly what he believes.

Any potential leader of the free world, that can order to send his own countrymen into deaths camp for our freedom sure better be able to accept the responsibility for innocent unborn children in his own country.

Obama, you are a loser liberal.


2 posted on 08/17/2008 5:42:30 AM PDT by Delta 21 ( MKC USCG - ret)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

heh..here’s a thread just posted over at the DUmp..someone over there sees what’s happenin and maybe deserves a kewpie doll award..

from the post “I think America is waking up to the fact that Obama is a politician, too, and that when he’s removed from the teleprompter he becomes quite the stumbler. We should have stuck with Hillary.

Here’s hoping for a big Convention bounce.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6650439


3 posted on 08/17/2008 5:43:08 AM PDT by GeorgiaDawg32 (I'm a Patriot Guard Rider. www.patriotguard.org for info.)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

“The LA Times writers did lead off with Obama’s statement that being president would be above his pay grade.”

In his defense, that isn’t what he said.


4 posted on 08/17/2008 5:44:13 AM PDT by dbacks (Should we really elect a man that would not be allowed to be an airport baggage screener?)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

There is an important rule I learned about succeeding in business which is if you want the higher pay grade, you perform at the higher pay grade even if your present salary is nowhere near that.

Obama’s answers are the same as when the most important Supreme Court decision was handed down. When Heller Vs. Washington D.C. was decided in our favor and the Second Amendment was ruled in favor of individual rights, obama the so-called Constitutional law professor claimed he didn’t know enough about the case to discuss it.

This guy is not performing as presidential material and doesn’t know how to be a president. He should not be anywhere near the presidency.


5 posted on 08/17/2008 5:46:00 AM PDT by Shooter 2.5 (NRA - Vote against the dem party)
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To: GeorgiaDawg32

Thats a good laugh to start the day with!!!


6 posted on 08/17/2008 5:46:59 AM PDT by Delta 21 ( MKC USCG - ret)
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To: dbacks
The question asked him to act as a president and he failed to do just that. The above pay grade is beyond his capacities.
7 posted on 08/17/2008 5:48:34 AM PDT by Shooter 2.5 (NRA - Vote against the dem party)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
Obama, who spoke for the first hour, offered more nuanced and analytical answers

That means 'unlear' 'obfuscated' and 'sidestepped'. He was obviously avoiding any direct revelation of his views and values, offering emotional mush instead.

8 posted on 08/17/2008 5:48:39 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (This election is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if McCain wins, we're still retarded.)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
Obama.....offered more nuanced and analytical answers

Code for weasel-worded.

9 posted on 08/17/2008 5:49:07 AM PDT by tbpiper (McCain is whitebread. Obama is toast.)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

I knew Obama was so much more intelligent. He was just so much *sigh* more nuanced and analytical.

And McCain giving all those sharp pat answers. I just knew he was a know it all. He didn’t even “diverge” from his well worn stories about how he found God as a prisoner of war in Vietnam”. The show off.

/sarc off


10 posted on 08/17/2008 5:53:31 AM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)
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To: Shooter 2.5
“This guy is not performing as presidential material and doesn’t know how to be a president. He should not be anywhere near the presidency.”

But this is the reason lots of people are supporting him.
Soros and others will be able to control him. Whoever is appointed to the White House staff and Secretary of State and so forth will have power beyond their imaginations.

11 posted on 08/17/2008 5:54:10 AM PDT by Maine Mariner
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To: dbacks

Right. He said that deciding when life begins is above his pay grade. Pretty pathetic attempt at not answering a very important question.


12 posted on 08/17/2008 5:54:17 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (This election is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if McCain wins, we're still retarded.)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Hey,you guys don’t understand the California mindset. Don’t you know only a Sith deals in absolutes?

George Lucas told me so. And hey dude, he should know.

You know when I read these articles, I always switch around the names in my mind to measure for bias. Somehow I just can’t imagine an MSM article writing, “Obama didn’t deviate from his well worn stories”.


13 posted on 08/17/2008 5:55:56 AM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

What he was actually saying is that he is not God -that is the pay grade he was referring to. However it seems giving an honest straight forward answer is above his pay grade too.

Mel


14 posted on 08/17/2008 5:56:23 AM PDT by melsec (A Proud Aussie)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
em>When Obama doesn't think he is qualified to be President,

You really need to take a reading comprehension course! The clown said making decisions for god was above his pay grade.

15 posted on 08/17/2008 5:57:12 AM PDT by org.whodat (Republicans should support the SAM Walton business model, and then drill???)
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To: I still care
We're just not intelligent enough to understand the nuances of Obama’s intellectual approach to the questions.. sarc..

This is what I told my wife would be the media spin on this and they didn't disappoint. For some reason, him admitting that questions of the sanctity of life are above his pay grade, is a good thing. Maybe I'm glad I'm not “smart” enough to think the presidency of the US is below such decisions.

16 posted on 08/17/2008 5:58:47 AM PDT by newnhdad
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
Obama, who spoke for the first hour, offered more nuanced and analytical answers on some of the issues important to conservative voters: abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research.

Um, ah, um, um, um, ah, LOLOL.

OTOH, there are those who actually watched the event.

17 posted on 08/17/2008 5:58:50 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
... the nearly 2,800 members of the evangelical church ...

Is this accurate? I thought that the event had tickets distributed and sold and that it would not be a safe assumption to state that all of those in attendance were members of the church.

18 posted on 08/17/2008 6:02:16 AM PDT by pnh102 (Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
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To: melsec
What he was actually saying is that he is not God . . ..

That would be a change in his platform.

What he is saying is he can't provide guidance to this controversy even though he would clearly be required to do so.

19 posted on 08/17/2008 6:03:14 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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To: melsec
What he was actually saying is that he is not God -

That's half of it. He said theological or scientific.

20 posted on 08/17/2008 6:05:01 AM PDT by new cruelty (don't believe the hype)
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