The Political Voices of Women

OK, I posted on the Saddleback Forum yesterday, and I thought that was all I would be doing. But, it seems what was being billed as a “fair” forum (with McCain unable to hear the questions ahead of time, during Obama’s hour), didn’t really go down that way at all. At the time Obama’s interview began, McCain hadn’t even left his hotel yet. What? Didn’t they mention that McCain was placed in a “cone of silence” or something? McCain apparently didn’t even get to Saddleback until a half-hour after he was supposedly in a cone of silence, and was able to hear at least half of the “secret” questions, giving him a huge advantage.

—

What do you think? Was the public deceived by this forum? Did John McCain have an advantage over Barack Obama? Here is some of what other bloggers are saying about this.

From News Hounds…

Saturday night, immediately after the Saddleback Forum, FOX News had a panel ready for analysis on the Strategy Room.. Everyone on the panel agreed that John McCain was strong and decisive. In fact, McCain was so quick with his answers that he finished at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. There may be a reason for McCain’s strong and decisive responses. The New York Times reports that John McCain was not in “a cone of silence” to prevent him from hearing the questions because he was,in fact, caught in traffic while Obama was questioned by Pastor Rick WarrenWarren assured the audience that McCain was unable to hear the questions because he was in a “cone of silence”. The format of the forum depended on the idea that both candidate would be answering the same questions so voters could make a clear comparison. The fact that McCain was able to know the questions beforehand completely negates the premise of the forum idea.

It also raises profound questions about the honesty of John McCain. His campaign is trying to turn it around acting shocked that anyone could accuse John McCain of cheating.

From Faithful Progressive…

This certainly doesn’t seem fair–and McCain’s joking response seems like a flat out lie. Don’t Republicans ever play fair? Instead, they rely on books full of lies about Democrats (two elections in a row), messing with voter turnout and making some people wait for hours, etc etc But cheating and lying at a Faith Forum… that is really, really a new low. Don’t forget, when McCain was asked about the outrageous swift boat book about Obama–he also made a joke about that.

From Robert Witham…

There was one striking difference between Barack Obama and John McCain’s answers though. Barack Obama answered the questions openly and honestly while talking to Rick Warren in front of a large audience. John McCain avoided many of the questions and talked to the audience even though he was seated facing Rick Warren on the platform. The contrast could hardly have been more stark. Warren repeatedly asked each candidate to answer the questions as asked and to avoid “stumping” and campaign rhetoric. Obama complied and answered the questions; McCain turned nearly every question into an opportunity to discuss another platform of his campaign.

There was also another striking difference between the way Obama and McCain answered questions about worldview and morality. Obama addressed questions about morality and worldview and explained how he arrived at his political position from that moral or worldview base. McCain ignored the moral or worldview component and simply answered with political responses.

This difference in responses could not be better exemplified than by their individual responses to a question about evil. Asked if evil is real and how it should be addressed, Obama responded in the affirmative (that evil did exist) and provided several examples of evil in our world. McCain also responded in the affirmative but proceeded to launch into a political statement about Muslim extremists. I thought I was listening to President Bush for a few minutes.

From Old Man McCain…

There was a story last night on DailyKos, suggesting that McCain sounded like he knew some of the questions in advance. I was skeptical, because McCain’s answers just weren’t that good. But I do have to admit that McCain was a bit more on-point than he usually is during these Q&A sessions.

But we were assured by Rich Warren that McCain was in a “cone of silence” during Obama’s portion of the debate, so there is little chance he could have heard the questions in advance – right?

Also See…Did John McCain Cheat at Saddleback Forum?