I don’t think we should get into who won or who lost the Saddleback Civil Forum. That isn’t the proper way to judge an event like this. Instead, it’s more importantly to look at each candidate’s individual performances and asses it as it relates to what they were trying to accomplish. Let’s start with John McCain. We’ll deal with Barack Obama in a separate post.
Overall, I thought John McCain helped himself tremendously. The money line was the following:
“I will be a pro-life President and this presidency will have pro-life policies. That’s my commitment to you.”
Evangelicals have been waiting to hear John McCain say that for quite some time. For him to come out on stage like that with a national audience watching his every move, it was a bold pronouncement that will serve him well throughout the campaign. I’m sure the McCain religious outreach team will be sending out the YouTube clip to religious conservative groups any day now.
The other Youtube clip the McCain campaign will probably send around is when he was very direct and forceful when asked “At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?” He didn’t beat around the bush. Instead it was a simple answer: “At the moment of conception”
Ca-ching! If this was the Evangelical version of the game show Jeopardy, then that was the daily double and McCain wagered it all and came up with the correct answer. (At least according to Evangelicals)
McCain’s answer on his faith saying he was “saved and forgiven” was pretty short and I’m sure Evangelicals wanted him to expand more but hey, he’s John McCain not John the Baptist. He then went into the often told cross in the sand story which to political reporters like me who have heard it numerous times, it felt a little stale. But in front of a national audience it seemed to work because many people hadn’t heard it and McCain seemed to get a little emotional when telling it. Emoting is a good thing.
His answer about how the failure of his first marriage was his greatest moral failure was a serious and poignant moment. It doesn’t get more real than that.
Speaking of real, maybe that was the most impressive part of McCain’s performance. He is known for his “straight talk” and I must say with all the direct answers he gave to Rick Warren, the Straight Talk Express was operating with a full tank of gas tonight.
McCain was able to roll in his support for school vouchers and home schoolers while showing his disdain for the appointments of liberal Supreme Court Justices like Souter, Ginsberg and Stevens.
McCain had a lot to lose at Saddleback Saturday night. His advisors tell me he knew how important this night was and he showed up big time. We will see how this performance plays within the Evangelical community but my hunch is that it will play very well. McCain’s stock is on the upswing.