August 17, 2008 9:11 AM
Obama and McCain at Saddleback - watch it now!
I'm so glad I watched the Civil Forum hosted by Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. I heartily recommend that you watch it in its entirety as you will see the truth about McCain and Obama as they reveal themselves in their answers and their bearing.
I was SO PROUD of McCain. You all know I have not been an enthusiastic supporter of McCain and would not even commit to voting for him. But after seeing him last night, I have no qualms at all.
McCain showed himself to be a true leader - confident and committed to his beliefs. And he was so energetic!
Barak Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 1
Barak Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 2
Barak Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 3
Barak Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 4
Barak Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 5
John McCain at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 1
John McCain at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 2
John McCain at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 3
John McCain at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 4
John McCain at the Saddleback Civil Forum - Part 5
On my way to church - will discuss more later.
Posted in Campaign 2008 | Permalink
Comments
Barbara,
It was great to see where both candidates stand on so many important issues. I had not seen much of McCain before the forum yesterday and was grateful to gain insights into his character.
I watched Obama weave his way through the questions providing answers that were a little vague. For example: Increasing world health education to reduce orphans--does he mean we need to provide abortions to those nations so the orphan population will be limited, or does he intend to provide condoms and/or abstinence education. Who knows, he sure wasn't clear.
McCain was very clear. And he has a lifetime of experience developing and displaying his character. I saw a man of integrity, experience and leadership. And I am now ready to help with his campaign locally (yes, I live in an Obama state--CA).
Thanks for making the videos available here.
Elizabeth
Posted by: ElizabethMThompson | August 17, 2008 11:51 AM
Your links for McCain's part 2 & 3 go to the same video. Could you fix that please? I know I'm missing some of it! Thank you!!
Posted by: Sarah | August 17, 2008 5:34 PM
Just wanted to say "hi" to a fellow mega mommy! (and McCain supporter)
Posted by: debi b | August 18, 2008 1:48 AM
I thought McCain did great. Obama almost put me to sleep. I couldn't believe how different they were when you put them on a stage and asked them the same questions.
I'm shocked to see how the MSM is saying how great Obama was and how McCain was just so-so. I heard a reporter on CNN say that McCain was like Bush (of course) and that we needed someone like Obama who was more nuanced and less black and white. I think there are folks out there who just live in a different world than me. The leader of Iran is not nuanced. Al-Queda is not nuanced. The Chechen rebels who ambushed the school in Beslan were not nuanced. They're pretty straight forward that they want to kill us and wipe Isreal off the map.
Obama talking about the evil in America with out once mentioning Islamic extremism was very telling. And I know there's evil in this country. But we do things to help abused children, to lower crime, etc. We are not a lawless country with no social services. There is evil going on in this world that can't be comprehended in our safe corner of America.
I'll get off my soap box now :) Thanks for posting this so people can see it.
Posted by: Alison C. | August 18, 2008 10:23 AM
I have still not warmed up to McCain and this did not help...He left his disabled first wife after cheating on her with a much younger woman who he married and he has not justified that at all.
I applaud Senator McCain for standing for pro-life values, but he is NOT pro-family and never has been and I fear he never will be.
Posted by: Anon | August 18, 2008 4:09 PM
From Wikipedia (and many other sources out there):
"Hensley met John McCain in April 1979 at a military reception in Hawaii. He was the U.S. Navy liaison officer to the United States Senate, almost eighteen years her senior. McCain and Hensley quickly began a relationship, traveling between Arizona and Washington to see each other. John McCain pushed to end his marriage of fourteen years; Carol McCain and John McCain stopped cohabiting in January 1980, and Carol accepted a divorce in February of 1980, effective in April 1980. John and Cindy were married on May 17, 1980 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix"
I guess out of the two candidates, I would definately pick McCain over Obama. But only because there is no other choice. I agree he is confident and commited to his beliefs. Enphasis on HIS.
Posted by: LadyLovas | August 18, 2008 4:22 PM
Dear Anon -
[and I hope that it won't be long before you feel comfortable not being anon - people here are very polite.]
We are all sinners. That said, I prefer leaders who humbly acknowledge their failures rather than pretending they don't exist. I accept what McCain says - that his biggest moral failure was his first marriage. I myself am guilty of divorcing a really nice person who didn't deserve it.
I think one thing obvious from the two conversations last night is that McCain has lived a full life and Obama hasn't. Obama's lack of experience and naivete is absolutely frightening when one considers that he may be at the helm of the country someday. I would rather have someone who could admit his own moral failure and who is unafraid to call evil evil than someone who sidesteps calling terrorism evil and focuses instead on abusive parents - then takes great pains to say that even those who fight evil get caught up in evil themselves (too many viewings of the Dark Knight, maybe?)
I think the leader of our country needs to be experienced and decisive, not wringing his hands in angst and decrying/criticizing/denigrating our country at every opportunity.
I think the American people are going to turn away from this - I just pray we see a lot more of Obama unscripted.
Posted by: barbara | August 18, 2008 4:34 PM
Oh, I was hoping I could catch you before my comment got pulished.
I do wish I could take it back. It is really none of my business what he did or how he came to be with his present wife. That would be judging, and I don't want to do that. If he gets to be our president he will have my full support and my prayers.
Sometimes I wish I didn't speak (or in this case, type) so quickly.
Posted by: LadyLovas | August 18, 2008 4:36 PM
Unbelievable!
When Obama was asked what he thinks has been America's moral failure he cited Matthew and the "whatsoever you do unto the least of these" verse. But he applied it to everything else, from poverty to sexism.................WHAT ABOUT ABORTION MR. OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!! AREN'T THOSE BABIES THE VERY LEAST OF ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shameless.
Posted by: LadyLovas | August 18, 2008 6:24 PM
Barbara, have you heard the latest about Obama and the IL Born Alive bill?
He called the NRL liars after the saddleback conferance because they exposed the fact that he voted against a bill that was identical to the federal bill that passed unanimously. Today the Obama camp came out and said the "misrepresented" the IL bill. Apparantly Obama thinks that 3 years of lies constitutes a "misrepresentation" Ha!
Anyways, Jill Stanek www.jillstanek.com has the full details. I think your readers would definitely want to know the truth about Obama on this issue.
Posted by: lauren | August 18, 2008 11:49 PM
Can someone who is staunchly pro-life vote for a canidate who supports government funding of fetal stem cell research and believes abortion is acceptable if the child is concieved through rape?
Posted by: Anna | August 19, 2008 11:20 AM
Anna - I think so, depending on the alternative.
Though McCain falls short of the completely hard-line pro-life approach in regards to embryonic stem cell research and abortion exceptions for rape and incest, he would make a much more pro-life president than Obama.
As was mentioned in the comments under the post about Obama's "pay grade" answer to the human rights question, Obama is 100% pro-abortion. He has promised to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, which would eliminate ALL the pro-life laws and limits on abortion now in place across the United States (such as parental notification laws and Women's Right to Know laws). He also would appoint pro-abortion Supreme Court justices, which would keep from success any attempts at changing the Roe decision.
Planned Parenthood and NARAL give Obama a 100% pro-choice voting score, and they give McCain a 0% pro-choice voting score. Abortion advocates realize that McCain is more pro-life than most pro-lifers are willing to give him credit for!
McCain may not be the perfect pro-life candidate, but even on that issue alone, I would vote for him over Obama in a heartbeat. (And that's not to mention the broader qualifications he has on other issues as well.)
Posted by: Becky Miller | August 19, 2008 11:44 AM
Anna, you asked:
Can someone who is staunchly pro-life vote for a candidate who supports government funding of fetal stem cell research and believes abortion is acceptable if the child is concieved through rape?
Yes. I can and I will.
There is too much at stake to vote otherwise.
Posted by: barbara | August 19, 2008 12:09 PM
I just don't think it is morally permissable to vote for a canidate who is the "lesser of two evils" simply because the alternative is worse.
What if McCain selects a pro-choice running mate? Is it still ok to vote for him?
What if, in addition to allowing for abortion in the case of rape, McCain was also open to allowing abortion until eight weeks after conception? Would it still be ok to vote for him?
I'm struggling with this because I feel that voting for a canidate because his opponent would be a worse is the start of a slippery slope.
Should I be willing to vote for McCain no matter what his stance on abortion might be as long as I thought his positions on all other issues was better for the country than his opponent's? If not -- where do we draw the line?
I'm honestly wrestling with these questions. I'm not meaning to offend anyone and I really hope that people will be able to help me find some clarity about this and have some peace about it. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Posted by: Anna | August 19, 2008 2:26 PM
Anna,
All I can say is that because we are not yet in heaven, we will never see perfect leadership.
even in the Bible, even among human leaders chosen by God, no one was ever perfect.
Not voting for the lesser of two evils sounds like a noble position, but I don't think McCain is evil. He is not a priest, but a politician. And when I'm faced with a choice between him and a guy who three times voted against a state law requiring that babies who had survived abortion be allowed to live - he preferred that if they were not killed inside the womb, they be killed outside to honor the intention of the mother - or who is so confused and filled with angst about his country that he thinks we are as evil as the people who killed thousands ofour citizens on 9/11 - well, there is just no way I would sit out the election.
Obama is too inexperienced, too moral equivocating, too disloyal to lead a country of this size and with this much responsibility.
McCain may not be perfect, but he is the only choice we have. I think it would honor God for me to be grateful that we have a choice and to exercise the gift He has given us of voting for the future of our country.
Posted by: barbara | August 19, 2008 3:06 PM
Barbara,
I agree that, until the second coming, there will never be perfect leadership on earth.
My question, and what I am wrestling with, is where do we draw the line? Of course McCain isn't evil, but given that he supports federal funding for stem cell research and thinks abortions should be legal in cases of rape, he also isn't firmly pro-life.
Granted he is "more" pro-life than Obama, but that isn't saying much (as you point out).
You say that McCain is the only choice we have other than Obama. He may be the only other canidate with the ability to win the presidency, but there are other canidates that are unapologetically 100% pro-life (The Rev. Chuck Baldwin and Mr. Bob Barr, for example).
So, in my mind, the question becomes: what is more important to me? Is it more important that Obama doesn't win or is it more important that I vote for someone who is unequivocally pro-life? If it's the former, I vote for McCain. If it's the latter, I don't vote for McCain.
I'm interested to hear, from you and your readers, what you chose as more important and why. Maybe that would help me make up my mind.
Posted by: Anna | August 19, 2008 4:52 PM
From what I've heard McCain has vowed to appoint only Pro-life Judges to the Surpreme Court, so I would really be very surprised if his plan is to bring on a pro-choice running mate. That just wouldn't make sense. Yes there are other names out there, but for me the thought of putting my vote on a candidate that is more of a "write-in" would be a waste of a vote and would only benefit the pro-abortion (Obama) candidate by taking away a possible vote for the Pro-Life (McCain) candidate. We are not and never will be perfect, but I believe that McCain is by far the better of the two choices that we have.
Posted by: Margaret | August 19, 2008 8:55 PM
I voted for Ron Paul in the RI state primary. I support his constructionist approach to pro-life legislation and his complete support of the pro-life position.
I have entertained the thought of writing him in Nov. 4. But I agree with Margaret that a write-in vote is essentially a vote for Obama, because it splits the conservative vote.
In primaries, I feel confident in fully "voting my conscience" with the candidate I can whole-heartedly endorse. When it comes down to the general presidential election, there really are ONLY two electable candidates. Third party candidates and write-ins only serve to split the main party-line votes.
Because Obama would do SO much damage to our country in specifically the abortion issue and also pretty much every other issue, I have no problem voting for McCain.
Posted by: Becky Miller | August 20, 2008 11:15 AM
Margaret,
According to both the Weekly Standard and the Washington Post, the top two contenders for McCain's running mate are Tom Ridge and Joseph Lieberman. Both of these men are pro-choice.
And again, I am not sure that someone who supports federal funding of fetal stem cell research and things abortion after rape is acceptable (McCain) can really be called "pro-life."
I think until Republicans/conservatives demand a 100% no-excepetions-no-excuses prolife canidate there will never be one. The only way I can think of to make such a demand is to only vote for such a canidate, even if it means the more conservative of the two major party canidates ends up losing.
At this point, I think it may take a McCain loss for the Republican party to do much needed soul searching and embrace a 100% prolife stance. Anything less than that should be unacceptable to those who believe life does begin at the instant of conception.
~Anna
Posted by: Anna | August 20, 2008 12:49 PM
