Obama and Rick Warren

McCain’s Revival?

            John McCain’s campaign experienced a revival at Saddleback Church this past Saturday -- a reawakening of enthusiasm that could fuel him to victory in November.

The Rick Warren Obama/McCain interview surprised me like a sucker punch. I was floored. McCain came across as the candidate I wanted as Commander in Chief – confident, substantive and even inspirational (“I want to encourage a generation to aspire to more than their own self interest.”).  Obama struck me as a mediocre contender for a guidance counselor – everything will be ok if we can just understand one another and get along.  The contrast was jarring.

Promising to “bring people together” is not a sufficient answer in a dangerous and complicated world.  Obama sounded like a playground supervisor who tries quelling bullies by telling them they just need to be nicer. While liberals may swoon under Obama’s spell, shouting “stop it” won’t deter Bin Laden and other Islamic extremists from wanting to murder Americans and end our way of life.  The Illinois Senator’s hubris might lead him to believe his personality and intellect can defeat evil.  Thousands of years of human history prove he’s wrong.

            On moral issues Obama was equally opaque. His responses to Warren’s questions were more appropriate for a University of Chicago honors seminar on Derrida – post-modern soliloquies that clearly expressed his relativist world view: All Truth is Your Truth (whatever that might be).

            Before it began ,I thought Obama would dominate the event.  He is comfortable in the Oprah style, “tell me how you feel,” interview setting.  He is urbane, likeable and quick witted.  And he is more conversant in the language of faith.  Rhetoric like “we need to focus on deeds, not words,” or “whatever you do to the least of my brothers,” flows easily from the lips of one schooled in the liberal Social Gospel. McCain does not share that religious tradition, and I thought he would struggle in that venue.

            Yet in the end, contrast was McCain’s friend. After each of Obama’s answers I had to ask myself “what did he just say?” Not so with McCain. Democratic strategists believe the Illinois Senator can do better than Gore and Kerry among faith-based voters by just showing up at events like this, or at least not speaking about religion with a hostile voice.  I’m not sure.

            Liberals erroneously construct a caricature that they think captures the faith-based community. They assume religiously-attuned voters only care about a narrow set of issues such as gay marriage and abortion.  In reality, these American voters take a much broader and deeper view of the world.

            McCain offered this broader perspective. He provided clarity, not rhetorical mush. And on issue after issue – from “what was your greatest moral failure,” to “does evil exist,” the presumptive Republican nominee answered clearly and concisely.  There was no “on one hand some people believe this and on the other some believe that.”  Agree with him or not, McCain’s positions were unambiguous and more understandable.  He communicated convictions with courage.  Obama tried to wrap traditional liberal beliefs in language acceptable to faith-based voters.  In the end he seemed vapid and confusing. 

            While I started watching the Warren interview thinking Obama’s message of hope would resonate well in the Saddleback Church, I ended completely inspired – by John McCain.