Obama Struggles Without Teleprompter at Saddleback Civil Forum
Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 06:20AM Barack Obama and John McCain, presumptive nominees for their parties, engaged in an excellent discussion last night at the Saddleback Civil Forum with pastor/author Rick Warren who wrote the best selling book The Purpose Driven Life in a forum that highlighted their differences and showed the candidates in a different light. Warren asked a series of identical questions to each candidate separately, who were both interviewed for an hour each.
McCain blew Obama out of the water. Obama stuttered, stammered and avoided controversial subjects like abortion while McCain gave direct answeres to direct questions. Take away the teleprompter and Obama isn’t quite so fluid, but McCain is in his element.
Here are side by side comparisons of the candidates on the issues with Obama answering first, McCain second:
Questions include:
- What was the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make and how did you come to the decision?
- At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?
- Does evil exist and if so should we ignore it, negotiate with it, contain it or defeat it?
Obama’s obfuscation on when an unborn child is entitled to human rights was downright embarrassing. If he’s going to be pro-choice he should just be pro-choice and proud of it no matter the audience. “The answer is above my pay grade” doesn’t cut it, Senator, especially when we all know your position on abortion.
Here are John McCain highlights, the best of the evening:
I haven’t been as gratified with McCain as the nominee as tonight. And Cindy McCain will make a great First Lady.
Trackback URL: http://amyproctor.squarespace.com/blog/trackback/2147385
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (17)
Interesting 'perspective' on the encounters. Given the "context", I thought McCain was more "effective".
However, I also thought McCain was the more embarrassing. He just clipped platitudes outta his stump speech. And talk about pandering! Shallow "W"a(R) rhetoric mixed with 'Gawdliness'. All the subtlety of cymbals in a marching band.
Obama on the other hand demonstrated inner depth and nuance, and a willingness to plumb his depths, in public, but you had to pay attention and think about his answers. Not a current American proclivity ...
Really, one of these guyz hit you over the head with the un-nuanced, the other makes you think. The difference between Obama and McCain was the difference between the performance of a philosopher and a cartoon character ... but then the current "context" of Ame(R)ica politics is quite cartoonish these days.
Snerd
Thanks, Amy, this was very telling. I'm liking John McCain more and more.
McCain answered the questions directly and without hesitation because he has answers. What some mistake for Obama's "inner depth" (HA!) is simply his inability to answer direct questions about what he stands for. He doesn't "think" about his answers because he didn't GIVE any. He never does.
"Obama’s obfuscation on when an unborn child is entitled to human rights was downright embarrassing. If he’s going to be pro-choice he should just be pro-choice and proud of it no matter the audience."
What was embarrassing and infuriating is that Obama -- or, Soetoro, if you will -- who claims to be a "devout Christian" embarrassed those in that audience and elsewhere who believe in the real Messiah and who know that Obama has not found, cannot find and will not find support for his anti-life position anywhere in the Holy Bible.
I suspect his inability to call A, A, is that with some remaining shred of morality, he knows that what he's saying is wrong, but his flesh is so megalomaniacally committed to be at the top of the political heap that he's made a Faustian bargain with the enemy ofall of our souls--rather than turning his head and heart back to the Savior in which he professes to believe.
And he knows that there will be payback some day for his Faustian bargain.
And then it won't matter what he's done on this speck of dirt and water in this solar system in a galaxy in the midst of an infinite number of them.
"Obama stuttered, stammered and avoided controversial subjects" - sorry, you got it wrong. Glibama "nuanced" - at least this is how LA Times, this epitome of jounalistic objevtivity & integrity described Glibama's performance. We would welcome the due change in your tex.
Best regards - misanthropicus.
---a person should never look at style too much and especially when deciding who to vote for--mccain walks the walk--obama talks one talk then acts in contradiction to his talk--he is not only pro abortion but pro letting babies who survive die--his actions tells us that but his talk? --he wasn't a senator when we went to iraq so he didn't vote or decide anything--and quoting the Bible--about helping the defenseless when he votes against viable babies is a misuse of the Bible--he claims he crossed party lines to vote with mccain--in reality he crossed then didn't keep his word and left---I'd love a black president but not at this price--you don't know what you are getting when you deal with barack and I don't think even he knows
If I lived in your country and had the opportunity to vote for either one, I know who I'd go for - McCain for sure!
There's that word again - nuance. That very Kerry French word. It does ,in fact, mean multiple shades, but the base truth of the word is that in the old French of its origin 'nuance' means 'cloud'. To cloud means something that darkens or fills with gloom, something that obscures, suspicion.
Much as dirt will cloud pure water making it nonpotable, nuance diverts attention from the fact that nothing of substance is actually being said. I remember a line from the old Dick van Dyke Show, "He says things that seem vague, but in reality, are meaningless." That's Obama to me and many others.
Warren's Saddleback Church is only a short distance from me, I know and work with some of his parishioners. While I consider Warren as little more than an Elmer Gantry, I did very much like the forum and the answers he elicited.
I was surprised at some of the answers of McCain, not because of what he said, but that I could predict his answers. When asked what he considered his greatest moral failure, I said, 'The breakup of my first marriage." That's what McCain said. To the question of evil, I said 'Defeat it' before the Q was finished. And of course, McCain's response was unequivically, 'Defeat it.'
It is not that John McCain is predictable, it's that I know what his basic morallity is, what his core values are. His answers are my answers. Beyond knowing Obama's answers that baby killing is OK, and that evil is negotiable, I haven't a clue what his core, basic values are; they are as nuanced as a winter sky.
Since the President is my representative to the world, that person should hold as many of my values as dear as I do. When John McCain is behind closed doors with world leaders, I think I know what he will be saying. I don't think I can trust Obama to adequately represent me.
"Nuanced" ... this nuance-speak for specious, vacuous, and effete.
Thank you for your great interpatation of what was said last night. McCain is an American and will be ready on day one to lead us foreward.
John McCain did succeed, and breathtakingly so, in communicating his life story to the audience. He is an american hero to be sure. However, I cannot support his candidacy for the presidency. If you want bravado, if you want someone who sees the world in black and white, John McCain is your man. I would only ask that when considering who you will nominate, that you don't make the profound mistake of perceiving introspection as weakness. Barack Obama is the President this country deserves.
Can we defeat evil? How do you defeat evil?
Decide for yourself who's answer shows more wisdom.
Sorry Bryan, but if America "deserves" Obama as you say, the America is doing something very, very wrong. We deserve a true patriot and someone with knowledge of foreign policy. McCain shines at both of those. Where does Obama shine? He can talk with a teleprompter. That's not good enough.
Amy, excellent work and analysis here. McCain made me proud! I posted a video of McCain's response on abortion along with Obama's response on abortion. Stark difference. Speaking of what's above Obama's pay grade, the office of President of the Unites States obviously is!
Anyone who thinks Obama nuanced anything at Saddleback didn't watch the forum of is just sticking up for their man. "Uh....ddd-d-d-d-d, mmmmmm...." were the mainstay of his comments. Again, without a teleprompter, Obama simply doesn't hold up.
My two oldest children, 16 and 15, watched with me and my daughter said she liked McCain for just answering the questions. He's sit for a second in thought and nail out a definitive answer. She said most politicians don't do that. I agree. I respected that he JUST ANSWERED, and I'll bet most Americans did, too.
Red State, I'm not sure what's going in the Saddleback church but it isn't orthodox religion. They do a lot of good works and that is huge, but moral theology is a cornerstone in Chrsitianity. I know the moderator is pro-life and he wanted to remain non-combative and frankly his forum really showed the candidates for who they are... it was brilliant. Obama on abortion was an expose'. "Over his pay grade"? and he wants the highest office in the land? That's scary.
Obama gave the only answer that a rational person can give on abortion. It is no one's job but your own to decide the question of when a fetus deserves human rights. I, and I think Mr. Obama would too, deeply respect everyone's beliefs on the issue and don't intend to try to convince anyone otherwise. The answer is not to criminalize women for acting in their own best interests. We can all agree that there are too many abortions, as Mr. Obama does. Last night Obama tried to reach across to the other side, and proposed to work together to reduce the number of abortions, but it would seem that his efforts have been firmly rebuked by those who would rather nominate one of their own.
Just so you know, us evolutionists/secularists/atheists don't want to encourage abortions, but we don't want to say that it's a criminal act for someone to end a pregnancy in it's early stages. If the faith community wants to see REAL progress on the issue of abortion, it should work with the pro-choice community to sponsor federal legislation that limits abortions to the first trimester (with an exception for the mother's health) and encourage both private and federal funding of family planning and adoption services. This may not be the ultimate solution the faith community wants to see, but I think this is something that most everyone could agree to.
Whether or not the faith community wants to criminalize abortions or not, it is a crime against humanity. Obama would not answer the question of when a human gains his human rights because that would force him to admit that abortion is then the killing of human life. He said in an earlier debate with Hillary Clinton that the "potential for human life" begins at conception while saying on the stump that fatherhood begins at conception. Confusing?
Not really. What Obama is doing is making a judgment call. That is that human life of those who get themselves pregnant is superior to human life of the most vulnerable and needy. Shame on him and all pro-choicers who pretend to be religious and hold this view.
Karen, me, too. I really liked McCain after last night. No doubt he'll step in it again, maybe with a moderate VP choice, who knows, but he was SPOT ON last night. And his wife adoring from the sideline was great. She's quite a good character and would make an awesome first lady.
I know you would, Amy. There's no way you could vote for Obama. As the election draws nearer, I think most Americans will have the same view.
I save world, I end the USA military -- they bad!
Did Senator Obama say that a TYPICAL BLACK PERSON can’t qualify to be on the supreme court of the US? Justice Thomas grew up in Pinpoint and Savanna Georgia and faced REAL prejudice in his life unlike Barack Obama growing up in multicultural Hawaii and Jakarta with few to no blacks or prejudice against blacks.
I would put up Justice Thomas’ professional and life experiences to Barack’s any day!!!
Justice Thomas could have easily beaten Senator Obama at Saddleback or in any forum/debate!!