If a serious part of this election campaign is going to be about "character" we may have seen an important illustration of the differences between the two candidates this Saturday at the Saddleback Church "Forum on Faith". It was interesting theater and I salute Senator Obama for being willing to step into a setting where a conservative estimate suggested the audience was inclined toward McCain by a ratio of at least two to one. Further, though tickets were meant to be available to the general public the Church members were given first crack at them, with ticket prices ranging from $500 to $2,000, and the congregation stepped up and bought them all out. Then something interesting happened and how this event will play itself out is yet to be seen. One unscripted moment for McCain seemed to be his musing over what made a person rich in America. He suggested that a yearly income of Five Million dollars perhaps should be the criteria. Five Million A YEAR? And anything below that is middle-class and upper middle-class one presumes? Boy have I been living in a bubble! I am headed out right now to apply for food stamps.
Watching McCain's performance at the Forum on Faith I was struck that McCain started out slowly, bashfully saying he hoped the questions would not be too hard, then seemed to catch fire and race on ahead as though... well, as though he had practiced. The issue of whether McCain's entourage had arrived at the facility before it began, in order for McCain to be put into quarantine as Warren said had been done, is not the issue. What struck me when I watched McCain is that it appeared likely that McCain had the actual questions slipped to him some days in advance, and had been conducting practice sessions. There were two telling points where McCain became overly eager and rushed ahead to give answers before the questions had been asked, to the obvious surprise and confusion of Rick Warren. Unless we are to assume that McCain has undisclosed skills as a mind-reader I am afraid it is more reasonable to assume that a sympathetic aide to Warren, without Warren's knowledge, took it upon himself to give McCain the written questions some days in advance, a courtesy that did not appear to be extended to Obama. If McCain had spoken first that would have been less obvious, but since Obama did so the contrast was quite striking. McCain on the stump, when asked a question from the audience, does not give the instant and concise answers that he had at the ready at the Forum. It was telling to watch Cindy McCain's expression, which struck me as one of surprised delight. To my mind that was a clear sign that to the extent the fix was in, Cindy was not aware of it and was pleasantly surprised and slightly stunned by McCain's performance.
If this is the case, and Warren is a bright enough man to also figure out whether his questions leaked in advance, there is likely to be a good deal of soul searching and internal discussion at Saddleback this week. Warren should have a very clear idea who had access to his questions and who did not, so there will not be a long list of people he will need to have that talk with. Then Warren will be faced with a moral dilemma. Clearly he likes McCain, both personally and for some of his positions, but balancing that will be Warren's responsibility as Pastor to his large Congregation. What should he make of a candidate who appears to have seen a copy of the test in advance, and chose to use it on exam day? In military academies that would be grounds for dismissal. Is this an issue of less moment than the honor of a midshipman or a cadet at exam time? What does this tell the American people about the candidate? If Warren discovers the questions slipped out to one candidate, and elects to suppress that information, what does that tell us about Warren? I would not care to be in Warren's shoes this week. He reached for the sky and grabbed on to a hurricane. The issue is explosive enough to at least do some damage to McCain's chance to be President. Warren can hardly relish being placed in the middle of an issue of such importance. Imagine how he must feel about McCain helping to put him in that spot? If I were him, I would be furious at being set up in that manner. If there was ever a time for Warren to pray for guidance, this is it. All I can say is, for those to whom much is given, much is asked.
The entire issue could have been avoided if McCain was less eager, less inclined to charge ahead, less inclined in some ways to show off how well he could answer the questions without even stopping to think about them. Incisive, quick, concise? Yes, maybe, but also so strikingly at variance with his recent and more rambling performances that the contrast was inescapable and questions are inevitable. The implications are troubling. In life we rarely are given the questions in advance. Trying to fool the American people is not nice.
Oh, and that heartstring-tugging story about the Vietnamese guard who drew a cross on the ground? In lengthy earlier accounts of his prison experiences McCain failed to mention that story and spoke of his guards as either brutal or homosexuals. The cross in the dirt story is strikingly like one in Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago".
I should note that when I hear right wing apologists leap to the defense of shysters who represent themselves as fighting for American Values by cobbling together lies and distortions to buttress their positions, that is invariably the path to political sleaze.
One act of dishonesty begets another.
Arthur
Watching McCain's performance at the Forum on Faith I was struck that McCain started out slowly, bashfully saying he hoped the questions would not be too hard, then seemed to catch fire and race on ahead as though... well, as though he had practiced. The issue of whether McCain's entourage had arrived at the facility before it began, in order for McCain to be put into quarantine as Warren said had been done, is not the issue. What struck me when I watched McCain is that it appeared likely that McCain had the actual questions slipped to him some days in advance, and had been conducting practice sessions. There were two telling points where McCain became overly eager and rushed ahead to give answers before the questions had been asked, to the obvious surprise and confusion of Rick Warren. Unless we are to assume that McCain has undisclosed skills as a mind-reader I am afraid it is more reasonable to assume that a sympathetic aide to Warren, without Warren's knowledge, took it upon himself to give McCain the written questions some days in advance, a courtesy that did not appear to be extended to Obama. If McCain had spoken first that would have been less obvious, but since Obama did so the contrast was quite striking. McCain on the stump, when asked a question from the audience, does not give the instant and concise answers that he had at the ready at the Forum. It was telling to watch Cindy McCain's expression, which struck me as one of surprised delight. To my mind that was a clear sign that to the extent the fix was in, Cindy was not aware of it and was pleasantly surprised and slightly stunned by McCain's performance.
If this is the case, and Warren is a bright enough man to also figure out whether his questions leaked in advance, there is likely to be a good deal of soul searching and internal discussion at Saddleback this week. Warren should have a very clear idea who had access to his questions and who did not, so there will not be a long list of people he will need to have that talk with. Then Warren will be faced with a moral dilemma. Clearly he likes McCain, both personally and for some of his positions, but balancing that will be Warren's responsibility as Pastor to his large Congregation. What should he make of a candidate who appears to have seen a copy of the test in advance, and chose to use it on exam day? In military academies that would be grounds for dismissal. Is this an issue of less moment than the honor of a midshipman or a cadet at exam time? What does this tell the American people about the candidate? If Warren discovers the questions slipped out to one candidate, and elects to suppress that information, what does that tell us about Warren? I would not care to be in Warren's shoes this week. He reached for the sky and grabbed on to a hurricane. The issue is explosive enough to at least do some damage to McCain's chance to be President. Warren can hardly relish being placed in the middle of an issue of such importance. Imagine how he must feel about McCain helping to put him in that spot? If I were him, I would be furious at being set up in that manner. If there was ever a time for Warren to pray for guidance, this is it. All I can say is, for those to whom much is given, much is asked.
The entire issue could have been avoided if McCain was less eager, less inclined to charge ahead, less inclined in some ways to show off how well he could answer the questions without even stopping to think about them. Incisive, quick, concise? Yes, maybe, but also so strikingly at variance with his recent and more rambling performances that the contrast was inescapable and questions are inevitable. The implications are troubling. In life we rarely are given the questions in advance. Trying to fool the American people is not nice.
Oh, and that heartstring-tugging story about the Vietnamese guard who drew a cross on the ground? In lengthy earlier accounts of his prison experiences McCain failed to mention that story and spoke of his guards as either brutal or homosexuals. The cross in the dirt story is strikingly like one in Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago".
I should note that when I hear right wing apologists leap to the defense of shysters who represent themselves as fighting for American Values by cobbling together lies and distortions to buttress their positions, that is invariably the path to political sleaze.
One act of dishonesty begets another.
Arthur
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