Rick Warren - Saddleback Civil Forum

[WhiskeyGirl]

Did anyone see the forum?

This is one of the longer articles I could find-

Obama says help to disadvantaged keyAP foreign,

Sunday August 17 2008

By CHARLES BABINGTON and BETH FOUHY

Associated Press Writers

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) - Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed on abortion Saturday, with McCain saying a baby's human rights begin ``at conception,'' while Obama restated his support for legalized abortion.

Appearing on the same stage for the first time in months, although they overlapped only briefly, the two men shared their views on a range of moral, foreign and domestic issues.

Obama said he would limit abortions in the late stages of pregnancy if there are exceptions for the mother's health. He said he knew that people who consider themselves pro-life will find his stance ``inadequate.''

He said the government should do more to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to help women who give birth, such as provide needed resources to the poor, as well as better adoption services.

McCain expressed his anti-abortion stand simply and quickly, saying human rights begin the instant that a human egg is fertilized. McCain, who adopted a daughter from Bangladesh, also called for making adoption easier.

Their comments came at a two-hour forum on faith hosted by the minister Rick Warren at his megachurch in Orange County, Calif. Obama joined Warren for the first hour, and Obama for the second. The two men briefly shook hands and hugged each other during the switch.

Warren asked both men the same questions. McCain said he did not see or hear Obama's session, which might have given him an advantage.

Obama said America's greatest moral failure is its insufficient help to the disadvantaged. He noted that the Bible quotes Jesus as saying ``whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.'' He said the maxim should apply to victims of poverty, sexism and racism.

McCain said the nation's greatest moral shortcoming is its failure to ``devote ourselves to causes greater than our self-interests.''

After the September 2001 terrorist attacks, McCain said, there should have been a national push for joining the Peace Corps and other volunteer organizations. His comment seemed an indirect criticism of President Bush, who had urged tax cuts and more shopping to stimulate the economy at the time.

He also said he would pursue Osama bin Laden ``to the gates of Hell,'' another goal that might be seen as a swipe at Bush's administration.

(snip)

In several cases, Obama gave a Christian interpretation to his generally liberal political views. He showed some familiarity with the Scripture, and said Jesus died for his sins.

McCain tended to give shorter, less complex answers. On domestic matters, he restated his call to ``drill now'' in U.S. lands and waters for oil and natural gas.

When Warren asked Obama to define the word ``rich,'' the Illinois senator teased him about the mammoth sales of his book, ``The Purpose Driven Life.'' He noted his plan to add a Social Security payroll tax to incomes above $250,000 a year.

McCain said, ``some of the richest people I've ever known in my life are the most unhappy.''

He said being rich should be defined by having a home and a prosperous and safe world. Without mentioning Obama, he said some want to increase taxes.

``I don't want to take any money from the rich. I want everybody to get rich,'' McCain said. ``I don't want to raise anybody's taxes. I really don't.''

When pushed on an exact number, he turned to his humor. ``If you're just talking about income, how about five million?'' he joked, before pivoting to clarify: ``I'm sure that comment will be distorted.''

Asked to name three wise people they would listen to, Obama named his wife, Michelle; his maternal grandmother, who lives in Hawaii; and, not limiting himself to only a third, named several Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

McCain named Gen. David Petreaus, head of U.S. troops in Iraq; U.S. Rep. and veteran civil rights leader John Lewis, D-Ga.; and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a top adviser to his campaign.

He lauded her as a woman who took a five-person business into a billion-dollar piece of the economy. ``It's one of these great economic success stories,'' McCain said.

Obama, asked his most significant policy shift in the last 10 years, cited welfare reform. As an Illinois state senator, he worked to mitigate what he thought could be ``disastrous'' effects of President Clinton's welfare reform effort, but over time came to embrace Clinton's approach.

``We have to have work as a centerpiece of any social policy,'' Obama said.

(snip)

McCain's positions are more in line with evangelical Christians. But he often seems uncomfortable talking about his faith and other personal beliefs, and the Christian right shows less enthusiasm for him than for past GOP contenders.

According to Saddleback Church officials, there are 2,200 people in the main room and a total of 4,200 including those watching from satellite locations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7730843

Has anyone seen a rebroadcast?  Maybe podcast?

[annintex]

It is replaying right now on Fox news channel and at 11:00 central on CNN. Certainly worth watching!

Hello to all the monkeys, long time lurker.

[WhiskeyGirl]

America 'slipping away': Barack Obama

Sunday, August 17, 2008  19:01 IST     

LOS ANGELES: Democratic Party's presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he believed America was "slipping away" and needed someone to get it back on track.

Appearing onstage together for the first time with his Republican rival John McCain at Saddleback Church in southern California, Obama said: "We've got to make the big decisions but we keep putting them off."

Washington is "broken," but "I have the ability to build bridges. I hope I have the opportunity to do that," Obama said.

Addressing the same function, hosted by the Reverend Rick Warren of the church, McCain said he also can bring the country together and that he can "move across the aisle" between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

He said he wants "to inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves."

"I've always put my country first," McCain added. "I'll be the president of every American."

read more here -

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1183900

Where are the bridges?  Has the country been without problems for the last 40-50 years?

It seems to me that both of these candidates had the opportunity to build bridges in the past 4-8 years.  Where are the bridges? 

Bridges may be built without the president.  jmho

Bridges have been collapsing left and right, bridge inspections are a hot button with many people.  Would someone look at New Orleans and conclude that there is no reason to repair or fix the Katrina damage?  It would be more politically favorable to just "build a bridge" over the city and ignore it?  Pretend the problems with mold, jobs, etc. will just go away?  Just add another bridge to the interstate?

Does the country really need more bridges?  Are these bridges, the bridges to nowhere?  When and when will they end? 

How many individuals and families remain on public welfare programs for years, their members never looking for or holding a paying job?

How many illegal aliens travel great distances and at personal risk to themselves to obtain employment?

Why aren't Americans making the same journey?

What kind of bridges does Obama have in mind?  How much is it going to cost the working classes?  Those that pay taxes?

Why not find new solutions and start lowering taxes on the working classes? 

[WhiskeyGirl]

Perspective: The Saddleback Forum
By Randy Sly
8/17/2008
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

If I had one hour all to myself with each candidate for president, what questions would I ask? This was the basic premise used by Pastor Rick Warren in his televised forum featuring both presidential candidates. And it worked!

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) – Pastor Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and best-selling author of “The Purpose Driven Life, hosted both presidential candidates on Saturday evening in a uniquely formatted meeting called “The Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency.”

The mega-church leader formulated a special plan – ask each candidate the same questions but don’t let their opponent hear the response. The result was a candid view of both Barack Obama and John McCain on the same subjects in sequential order.

As I anticipated the evening, my primary concerns were about the questions Warren would ask. Would he try to be a faith-based version of “Meet the Press?” Would he sound like a refurbished version of the old religious right?

As each question unfolded, I found myself sitting there thinking, “This is exactly what I would want to ask!” Obviously, as a Catholic Christian, there are areas I would have hoped to explore in greater detail, especially with regard to our social teaching, but Pastor Warren did a good job of expressing a point of view that has been foreign in a number of evangelical circles – the church in society.

I would have liked more exploration on issues of solidarity with the poor, bioethics, and even aspects of freedom. After hearing both candidates’ response to the war question, I would have liked to hear them talk more about the concept of a just war.

All that being said, the evening was fact-filled regarding thoughts and ideas that inquiring Christian minds wanted to know.

The evening began with the pastor sitting with Barack Obama. Question by question, the candidate had an opportunity to talk about his own personal faith, those to whom he would turn for advice, his moral failures, and his convictions regarding life, war, taxes, and other issues. The second hour found Senator John McCain sitting in the same chair, answering the same questions.

As the forum was wrapping up, it was crystal clear that these two men would be two completely different presidents. With regard to life issues, the candidates were not just at opposite poles. Warren asked each of them when individuals received human rights.

The Saddleback Forum was a class act for Christendom. I’m certain there are those who were upset with Warren’s demeanor, but it was a refreshing view of Christ’s church at work in the world. However, I believe our message of life, family, freedom, and solidarity with the poor will be received more powerfully and more seriously as love-ignited ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.

This Civil Forum ushered in a new era of political inquiry that, I believe, will be around for a long time. My prayer is that it also ushered in a new era of ethical behavior by all who claim Jesus is Lord.

read the rest of the article here -
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=28931

[WhiskeyGirl]

Here is the transcript -

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/16/se.02.html