The Saddleback Forum, Part I: John McCain

I watched The Saddleback “Civil Forum on the Presidency” hosted by Pastor Rick Warren on Saturday, and I have to tell you, I was riveted. It was truly a well put together affair. There were no REALLY difficult questions, but there really weren’t any easy ones either.

I’m not going to go over every word Mister McCain said, and i’m not going to go in any particular order. I am going to give a quote or two and then an Impression of what I thought of the man and how i feel about his answers. There were many answers that were short and to the point, and some that meandered a bit. I’ll cover both examples at least once here.

He was asked who were the three wisest people in his life. His Answer: General David Petraeus, Representative John Lewis, and Meg Whitman. Petraeus was a gimme, since McCain is an ardent supporter of the Iraq war. I think the general is a good man as well, he’s just stuck in a war that’s been badly run since before he got there. John Lewis, now that pick surprised me because he’s a Democrat, and ardently opposes the Iraq war. The third person I knew nothing about, Meg Whitman, except what Mister McCain said Himself (Founder and former CEO Of EBay). What I have found out is that she works for the campaign and has been mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain.

When he asked what the greatest moral failure of his life he said simply: The end of his first marriage.

When asked at what point does a baby get human rights he said simply: Life begins at the moment of conception. (Some say this means he is anti-contraception as well as anti-abortion)

When asked to define marriage, he said: A union between one man and one woman. (Against gay marriage)

VERY short and to the point answers. No explanation of the thought process behind what he believes.

At other times, he was very much the storyteller, and he told four or five of them Saturday. He told several stories of his time in Viet Nam in a prisoner of war camp, and in one story he told of how he had for a moment, found a christian amongst his captors…Of standing outside for a few minutes with him on christmas eve, and the guard draws a cross on the ground, and for a minute, just a minute, they weren’t enemies, they were two christians standing together.

Touching. Truly.

He did also have a few moments where he pushed his talking points a bit much. He pushed his energy agenda hard, like he was selling detergent, and sold his anti-russia views just as hard. He waffled big time when it came to taxes and what he considers “Rich”. Now, I am of much the same mind as him on Russia. His energy policy though isn’t nearly as comprehensive or as strong as Barack Obama’s. He would have won me over a bit more if wasn’t such a waffler on the Tax/Wealth question. When asked why he wanted to be President, he almost sounded like he was back on the stump, “America’s best days being ahead of us”. At times like that the man sounded genuinely wooden, like he was rehearsing a half remembered speech. You would have to be an ardent supporter of the man to think he did well in this “civil forum”.

But I’ll tell you, the overall impression I got was that he is a guy who maybe tried too hard to sell parts of his agenda to the public, who was too busy trying to be the best politician to show who he really is, but who believes in the basic power of the goodness of what he wants to do as President.

On a personal level, I do not believe in everything Mister McCain has to sell, and I am more convinced than ever that there are too many things that he and I disagree on for me to be happy with him as a candidate. But I think I know the man a bit better now than i did before this happened.

A video of the event for your viewing pleasure:

Do you think John McCain has what it takes to be the next President of the United States of America? What do like most about him? What is least appealing to you about him? Drop me a line and let me Know!

Uncle Mikey