Saddleback Forum
Anna and I watched about 30 minutes of this last night. I wasn’t planning on watching it for own pretentious reasons . . . but there was nothing else on while we were trying to fall asleep unless we wanted to watch Latvia vs. Chad in a nationalistic wet noodle fight. We didn’t see Obama (probably a good thing) but we did catch Johnny Mac do his thing for a while. It was about what I expected both sides to do . . . drop the name of the Jesus like he was their homeboy in every answer and somehow work in an Old Testament story in each answer. While I’m not sure if Obama did this last night since we didn’t get a chance to watch him (it wouldn’t surprise me if he did), I’ll rely on Zach Lind’s quick diagnosis which seems to be about right.
Which also why you should read Zach Lind’s blog . . .
“For me, the most illuminating question Warren posed was on the nature of Evil in the world. Obama answered by saying that we should confront the evil in the world, but that it can only be God who can completely eliminate evil. And he added that in confronting the evil of the world, we must do so with humility. McCain, on the other hand, without hesitation said we should defeat evil. He claimed that he would “follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell” if need be. In addition to that, he claimed that he knows how to find Bin Laden. Finally, he said that he had no doubt that with the US military, he could completely rid the world of evil. In my view, Obama’s response was much more responsible and was rooted in reality, which is always a good thing right?
Sadly but not surprisingly, the crowd, while friendly to Obama, was really eating up McCain’s responses. The strangest moment, as Andrew Sullivan noted, what when the crowd gave it’s loudest applause for McCain’s call to begin off-shore drilling as soon as possible. It’s interesting that a room full of people who could afford the $500-$2,000 ticket price for this event are THAT concerned with the price of gas.”
i watched the entire forum online last night (yay for cnn). i have to comment that i walked away very impressed for a few reasons…
first, i loved that it wasn’t the normal debate set-up, where the “moderator” is really just trying to set each candidate up for a fall and then each of the candidates spend most of the time making snide remarks to each other and giving exasperated sighs. it was nice to have a genuinely positive atmosphere (i don’t know if it was planned/required or not, but i don’t remember either candidate referring to the other in a negative way during any of their answers).
second, i enjoyed that Warren chose not to just ask “Jesus-y” questions, but actually allowed for a bit broader worldview that Bible-thumping evangelicalism. maybe still a bit too much emphasis on judges, abortion & homosexuality, but i suppose those are actual issues so they ought to be addressed on some level. but that he did go broader than those was a breath of fresh air.
finally, i thought both contestants gave thoughtful, thought-provoking answers. it was just a remix of the same old stump speeches i’ve been reading. surely there was a little of that mixed in, but they really gave some answers and talked about some stuff i hadn’t heard at all, and i feel as if i’ve been following the election pretty closely.
surely there were faults…anytime you give evangelicals two hands and put them in a room with a people talking, they feel the need to turn into human applause-o-meters, which is both annoying and dumb. and i’m sure that Obama & McCain, being politicians, were being politically savvy about their answers. but on some level i’ve been trying to treat them as human beings, too, and remind myself that they believe what they say (hopefully). i guess what i’m trying to say is i’ve been trying to hold back my cynicism (which isn’t easy to do, dang it) and have a little faith that they actually could offer hope for the US.
I didn’t see it either, but all I heard about it was that Obama had “won”. Whatever that means.
I think Zach’s assertation that Obama had a more responsible response is right, and it equally frightens me at the same time that people think the world can be rid of evil in the way McCain apparently proposed. And I thought the democrats were the naive ones..
That said, I’m still no friend of either candidate or either party and am far from believing the genuinness of any political candidate’s claims of faith. Especially these two, and especially looking at their pasts, their temperments, their issues, and the way that candidates always pander. WHY IS IT THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ALWAYS LET THEMSELVES BELEIVE THE PANDERING? We must be insane. Or maybe just affluent/lazy/easy.
Hello, I am new to your blog. I found your blog through Biscotti_Brain.
I agree with amoslanka. I think that there are a lot of Americans who are willing to believe whichever candidate fits their own party. They don’t go and dig for information on them, but because of the candidates faith, beliefs, views, ethnic background, whether they were in the military or not, they want to vote for the person.
I just wish that there was another candidate to choose from. I will vote in this upcoming election, but I don’t want either candidate.
Hi Josh,
I found your blog through my friend Blake Huggins blogroll just doing some random reading one day. I most liked your one about working at apple and it encouraged me to apply in Okc because i was looking for a part time job to supplement my full time income. Well much to my surprize i got hired as a part time specialist and i am enjoying it very much. Well except for being away from home more, They are just like you said they are. It does not feel like a retail enviroment at all. I want to thank your blog for encourging me to apply at apple. I like your blog and would like to add you to my blogroll. But im just getting started with mine so its nothing fancy.
Josh,
I think people should take a look at this clip on YouTube from The Young Turks. They have some really interesting news clips.
Ok, McCain talked about the guard who drew the cross in the dirt and loosened his ropes in his interview with Warren.
In his initial account after getting back from Vietnam, he never mentions this story.
No big, right? Except that someone has alreay told this story… Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Take a look:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/mccains-cross-i.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Ue-p-xxsM
But then again, how many Americans have read Solzhenitsyn?
Sigh. And the evangelical church wants to hop on board the McCain/Palin bus?
-mike