It is demonstrable that McCain decisively won the exchange at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California. See Professor Schaff's post for a wealth of links to Saturday's encounter. In the first place, it explains why Obama is so loath to meet McCain in town hall settings: he is pretty good with a memorized speech or teleprompter, but not so hot in thinking on his feet. In the second place, the Obama campaign immediately whipped up a "McCain cheated" meme (the newly christened "cone of silence" affair) to cover their man's posterior. According to the later, McCain was secretly allowed to listen to the Obama interview, so that when he went second he could anticipate the questions. The Reverend Rick Warren, who presented the questions, denies this, and there is no evidence so far to support the charges. But true or false, the complaint seems so much like whining, and is so obviously designed to excuse an inferior performance, as to amount to a concession.
The victory is equally clear from the CNN transcripts. The best moment for McCain was the following exchange.
WARREN: Well, you just took the -- I had that question later on but now we don't have to ask it. What's the most gut-wrenching decision you've ever had to make? And what was the process that you used to make it?
MCCAIN: It was long ago, and far away, in a prison camp in North Vietnam. My father was a high-ranking admiral. The Vietnamese came and said that I could leave prison early. And we had a code of conduct. It said you only leave by order of capture. I also had a dear and beloved friend, who was from California, named Ebb Alvarez, who had been shot down before me. But I wasn't in good physical shape. In fact, I was in rather bad physical shape. So I said no. Now, in interest of full disclosure, I'm happy I didn't know the war was going to last for another three years or so.
But I said no, and I'll never forget sitting in my last answer, and the high-ranking officer offered it, slammed the door and the interrogator said, "Go back to your cell. It's going to be very tough on you now." And it was. But not only the toughest decision I ever made, but I am most happy about that decision, than any decision I've ever made in my life. (APPLAUSE).
Now that's knocking it out of the ball park. Of course McCain had an unfair advantage: unlike Obama and myself, for example, he didn't enjoy a consistently charmed life. There is no way that someone in Obama's position could match that. But Obama still managed to make a mess of his answer.
WARREN: What's the most significant -- let me ask it this way. What's the most gut-wrenching decision you ever had to make and how did you process that to come to that decision?
OBAMA: Well, you know, I think the opposition to the war in Iraq was as tough a decision as I've had to make. Not only because there were political consequences, but also because Saddam Hussein was a real bad person, and there was no doubt that he meant America ill. But I was firmly convinced at the time that we did not have strong evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and there were a lot of questions that, as I spoke to experts, kept on coming up. Do we know how the Shia and the Sunni and the Kurds are going to get along in a post-Saddam situation? What's our assessment as to how this will affect the battle against terrorists like Al Qaida? Have we finished the job in Afghanistan?
So I agonized over that. And I think that questions of war and peace generally are so profound. You know, when you meet the troops, they're 19, 20, 21-year-old kids, and you're putting them into harm's way. There is a solemn obligation that you do everything you can to get that decision right. And now, as the war went forward, there are difficult decisions about how long do you keep on funding the war, if you strongly believe that it's not in America's national interest. At the same time, you don't want to have troops who are out there without the equipment they need.
So all those questions surrounding the war have been very difficult for me.
This just doesn't make much sense as an answer. He paints what looks like a convincing argument against the war, if you buy the premises. Then why was it so agonizing a decision? This is all campaign speech, and no heart. And then there is the part on abortion:
WARREN: That was a freebie. That was a gimme. That was a gimme, OK? Now, let's deal with abortion; 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. As a pastor, I have to deal with this all of the time, all of the pain and all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. Forty million abortions, at what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?
OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.
That of course is dodging the question. After all, this guy is clearly angling for pay scale upgrade. Just how much is it going to cost us to hear him answer the question? Here's McCain:
WARREN: Let's deal with abortion. I, as a pastor, have to deal with this all the time, every different angle, every different pain, all of the decisions and all of that. Forty million abortions since Roe v. Wade. Some people, people who believe that life begins at conception, believe that's a holocaust for many people. What point is a baby entitled to human rights?
MCCAIN: At the moment of conception. (APPLAUSE). I have a 25- year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president. And this presidency will have pro-life policies. That's my commitment. That's my commitment to you.
WARREN: OK, we don't have to beleaguer on that one. Define marriage.
Obama's disciples will talk about how nuanced he was, but this may be more nuance than a candidate can afford. McCain was as relaxed and comfortable as I have ever seen him. Obama looked like he had lost his notes.
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