I am watching the Saddleback Presidential Forum. Sen. Obama is currently being questioned by Rick Warren. Rick just framed the Supreme Court question in a very interesting way. Rather than the typical “Who is your favorite Justice?” question, Rick asked Sen. Obama “which sitting Supreme Court Justice would you have not nominated?” I liked the question, but Sen. Obama’s response concerns me. He stated that he would not have nominated Justice Thomas. Nothing surprising at his response if it was based on judicial philosophy. However, Sen. Obama in essence said that Clarence Thomas was not intellectually ready for the position. I thought that was a cheap shot. Sen. Obama also said that he would not have nominated Justice Scalia, even though he is smart enough (contrasting that with Clarence Thomas). John Roberts was clearly smart enough, although he voted against him.
I thought that Sen. Obama’s answer on international religious freedom was excellent, as was Rick’s question.
Frankly, I think Rick Warren has done an excellent job at posing questions. Sen. Obama answered the questions directly, whether you like his answers or not.
posted August 16, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I agree, Jay: Rick warren proved himself to be competent — he asked the right questions, which is the most important part of a forum like this.
I thought that Sen. McCain gave more specific answers. He is a man with a plan, not someone inexperienced who is not sure what he is going to do. John McCain gave more explanations of what he will do specifically to deal with the problems brought up by Rick. It seemed that Sen. Obama gave more general responses. I like Obama – he is a likable person, and respectable — but it takes more than a nice smile and pleasant personality to lead a great nation like ours. It takes well thought out plans and goals, and the ability to inspire confidence in his competency as a leader (to really convince people that he knows what he is doing, knows how to preserve our country’s freedom and moral laws — marriage and abortion). McCain is “tried & true”; has the proven character and courage in defending our country.
posted August 16, 2008 at 10:28 pm
That is an interesting take on McCain’s performance. I felt that almost every answer McCain gave was canned and rehearsed. Obama seemed to actually answer the questions asked and gave insight into how he thinks and believes. I don’t believe anything new was revealed by McCain…same stories and anticdotes. Many questions were not even fully answered by McCain, such as the “what does your Christian faith mean to you?” His response was to tell the “cross in the dirt” story for the millionth time. You may not like Obama’s answers, I certainly do not agree with all of them, but he genuinely attempted to answer each and every question without resorting to talking points or stump speeches. That is just how I interpreted the forum.
posted August 17, 2008 at 12:26 am
I agree with Jeremy. Obama seemed to explain himself better. He knew that some of his answers would not sit well with the audience so he explained how he can to his choices. McCain seemed to rely on stories and pat answers,
Also, McCain’s answers seem to come out a little to fast. Obama gave the opinion that he was thinking befor speaking and I thought better of him for it.
All in all, they both gave good performances and while I may not agree with all that either of them said, I beleive that both of them sincerely believe that they will serve the office of President with honer and dignity, which is a lot more that Bush has.
posted August 18, 2008 at 1:16 am
McCain was firm and polished in his answers while Obama stammered, “erred” and “ummned” often; he needs a lectern and notes.
I was surprised that he denigrated Justice Thomas, another black. I would think he would be pleased that an African American sits on the highest court in the land. I guess Obama puts politics before pride in his race.
McCain was far more polished, and could not have rehearsed the answers. He took the opportunity to give some real life experiences that Obama doesnt have. It subtlety but effectively exposed Obama’s lack of experience.
posted August 18, 2008 at 1:58 pm
The segments of the debate I watched and heard were very informative. I hope the american public will take a good look at the candidates stand on very important issues. When Rick Warren asked Senator Obama about marriage and his opinion was that he believed in marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Then why is he promising the LBGT community that if he is elected President, one of his first executive acts would be is to repeal DOMA or defense of marriage act, which helps protect the institution of marriage from being changed and keeps it the way God intended it. In a letter outlining his position to Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, Senator Obama stated his opinion very clearly on where he really stands on marriage. Just food for thought.
posted August 18, 2008 at 11:50 pm
“I was surprised that he denigrated Justice Thomas, another black. I would think he would be pleased that an African American sits on the highest court in the land. I guess Obama puts politics before pride in his race. ”
Oh, for crying out loud. Maybe, just maybe, Senator Obama cares about the competence of the justices?
“Then why is he promising the LBGT community that if he is elected President, one of his first executive acts would be is to repeal DOMA or defense of marriage act, which helps protect the institution of marriage from being changed and keeps it the way God intended it.”
If any politician wanted to keep the institution of marriage the way God intended it, maybe he or she would seek to ban divorce. Let the Christian who was a virgin on his wedding night who has always been faithful to the same spouse cast the first stone, assuming they are otherwise sinless.
posted June 11, 2009 at 12:20 am
6/10/09
Hi Dr. Sekulow,
I appreciate your commitment to honorable, equitable analysis of Pres. Obama’s comments regarding the debate, criticizing Pres. Obama for his reason for disapproval of Justice Thomas but applauding his answer to the question on International Religious Freedom. I will provide part of his response infra:
“Well, I think the first thing we have to do is to bear witness and speak out and not pretend that it’s not taking place.
You know our relationship with China, for example, is a very complicated one. You know, we’re trading partners. Unfortunately, they are now lenders to us because we haven’t been taking care of our economy the way we need to be.
I don’t think any of us want to see military conflict with China; so we want to manage this relationship and move them into the world community as a full partner, but we can’t purchase that by ignoring the very real … persecutions that are taking place. And so having administration that’s speaking out, joining in international forums where we can point out human rights abuses and the absence of religious freedom, that, I think, is absolutely critical.”
Although it was honorable of Pres. Obama to mention religious persecution in the Middle East speech, I think Pres. Obama could have done a better job about speaking more about religious persecution in his Middle East speech, especially since a couple of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt top the list of abuse. While the presidency unfolds, it will be very interesting to evaluate in the days ahead whether or not Pres. Obama will indeed make good on his promise of being an administration that is not afraid to vocalize human rights abuses and absence of religious freedom even in the midst of cultivation and exploration of delicate foreign policy issues.