Pastor Rick Warren held a civil forum at his mega-church in Mission Viejo, California yesterday where he invited Senators Obama and McCain to share their views on subjects of religion and on subject way beyond religion.
We got to witness two very different versions of leadership and what America will be like under one of these two fellows administration. The major difference was in the way each would conduct himself—if their answers were true reflections of what they really believed.
Senator Obama gave by far the most nuanced, thought out, intelligent responses. I am not just saying that because I am an Obama supporter. I am saying that because it’s true.
Senator McCain gave his stump answers and they were direct, simple and to the point.
There are two points that I would make from the onset about McCain:
#1. He is a very dangerous man in many ways quite similar to George W. Bush, the present occupant of the White House—McCain is quite the simpleton;
#2. The second point that I would make is that McCain is a far better candidate, and a far more serious challenger than I thought he’d be.
Let’s look at how each man answered three of the identical questions:
#1. Questions: How do you confront evil?
Obama gave a nuanced response, explaining how evil presents itself and how to combat it via international coalitions, cooperation and the like. He also explained that we have to be careful that we don’t do harm while combating evil—and he clearly believes that this presents a great danger.
McCain simply stated, “defeat it! And launched into a diatribe about chasing Osama to the gates of hell!
McCain clearly outfoxed Obama because the latter came to answer questions in a thoughtful way. McCain came to appeal to the crowd, rather than addressing the questions. McCain appealed to the crowd by specifically mentioning his capture—and the suffering he endured—no fewer than three times and once more by reference. Clearly, McCain believes that his suffering while in captivity prepared him to be President!
Obama was outfoxed because he was under the mistaken illusion, apparently, that he and McCain were attending the Forum to have a discussion! McCain knew better and this indicates just how politically wired McCain is, despite the media’s painting him as a maverick. He is a consummate politician quite full of his own rectitude about issues.
#2. Another question was about abortion:
McCain’s response was “I am prolife.” He does not believe in abortion. Period.
Obama’s response: “I support Roe v Wade,” nuanced the question, engaging in such obscure comments as the “trimester,” of pregnancy which might limit a woman’s right of choice. Obama further nuanced the issue by talking about how hard women took the decision before deciding to abort. The question was not about what women thought, but was about what Obama thought. I thought his response nuanced the question as best any candidate could who is prochoice. There is, however, always a danger in fiddling when answering a question, but Obama had no choice since he was walking on eggshells.
McCain’s answers showed no uncertainty about anything—except whether or not U.S. should intervene in Darfur to stop the genocide. His responses to the situation in Georgia showed no such nuance, which made me question his sincerity about genocide in Africa.
#3. Another question involved the Supreme Court:
Pastor Warren asked: “What Supreme Court justice would you not have appointed?”
Senator Obama responded, “Justice Thomas,” and then he proceeded to explain exactly why, basically he did not feel that Justice Thomas possessed the legal intellectual acumen to sit on the Supreme Court Bench; and Obama proceeded to explain why he would not have appointed Roberts or Alito, the two other justices appointed by Bush
Senator McCain’s responses were about as nuanced as a Wilder beast in heat:
He responded “Ginsburg, Breyer, Stevens and Souter!”
In other words, McCain wants to skew the Supreme Court with radical conservatives that would overturn Roe v. Wade, approve all sorts of torture, which he opposed, then flopped and support torture!
Finally, I could not help to notice just how much McCain is relying on his capture by the North Vietnamese to bolster his campaign.
I wonder if the public, not necessarily the Orange County, California public, was perceptible enough to harbor any thought on how does being captured by the enemy qualifies one to be President of the United States? If being captured confers Presidential statute upon one, I eagerly await, and hope, that the two women captured by Iraqis will qualify in the future to be President.
With McCain, we will certainly get a Bush III Term. That just may be the self-
righteous, arrogant certainty that the Americans desire.
Unless the Obama launches a sustained attack to expose McCain’ record, he might wake up on the first Wednesday following the first Tuesday in November to learn that John McCain’s audacity has slain Obama’s hope.
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©All Rights Reserved.Reproduction is permitted provided credit is given.Lenton Aikins, Ph.D., J.D.Dr. Aikins has traveled widely, lived abroad in Europe and Latin America, recently spending three years in Costa Rica as Director of a Spanish Language school. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from University of Southern California, a Juris Doctor in Law from Western State University, College of Law. He is the author of many articles and of While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites, now available at: http://lentonaikins.com, and available in all bookstores July 1,2008. You can read his blog: Go to: http://lentonaikins.com and click on blog.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
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