McCain Scores A Bump From Saddleback

Politico: Republican Has Taken Important Step Toward Shoring Up Support Among Christian Conservatives

(The Politico)  This story was written by Alexander Burns.

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He clashed with their leaders in his 2000 campaign. He struggled to gain their votes during the 2008 primaries. And he still doesn’t spend much time talking about the issues they consider most important.

But after Saturday night’s televised forum at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., John McCain has taken an important step toward shoring up his support among the Republican Party’s Christian conservative base.

Even as speculation swirls that McCain could choose a running mate who supports abortion rights - a move that would surely anger Christian conservatives - the presumptive Republican nominee is enjoying a lift from his performance in last weekend’s forum.

“We’re getting tons of phone calls left and right,” said George Andrews, the executive director of the Orange County, Calif., Republican Party. “Overall, people have been calling and saying John McCain did an outstanding job.”

The forum, hosted by Rick Warren, the pastor of the 22,000-member Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life," featured back-to-back, hour-long interviews with both McCain and his general election opponent, Barack Obama, on subjects ranging from abortion and judicial nominations to personal moral failures.

Several conservative activists identified McCain’s response to the question, “What point is a baby entitled to human rights?” as his finest moment of the evening.

McCain replied quickly: “At the moment of conception,” and continued: “I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president.”

“He was just right out of the box,” said Lynda Bell, the president of Florida Right to Life. “McCain was so incredibly decisive and he was so clear in his answers. There was no gray area.”

“They feel like this is the start of John McCain’s coming out, in terms of embracing the conservative evangelicals,” Andrews said, comparing the event to the 2000 primary debate in which George W. Bush named Jesus Christ as the philosopher who had influenced him most.

According to Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Christian conservatives were especially eager to hear this message from McCain.

“I think they needed to hear it and they needed to hear it when the question was asked in that way, that protections need to come at the moment of conception,” Land said. “That removes all doubt.”

Obama, on the other hand, avoided a clear response: “I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.”

“That was an evasion that didn’t work,” said Land.

McCain has a steadfastly conservative voting record on many social issues, but does not talk about these topics on the campaign trail as often, or as enthusiastically, as he does national security and terrorism.

Since June, McCain has not given a single speech focused on social issues, and in the public remarks posted on his website he has referred to God just eight times and religious faith, more broadly, only once.

Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, said Christian conservatives needed to hear McCain talk about social issues to get enthusiastic about his candidacy.

“Most people, they don’t do this for a living, they don’t study a candidate’s record, and even when they see a record, it has to be backed up by the candidate talking about it and making it important,” Perkins said.

Indeed, in a Pew survey released July 10, 38 percent of those surveyed could not identify the Arizona senator’s stance on the issue (thesame percentage could not identify Barack Obama’s position).
The importance of McCain’s performance at the Saddleback Church, then, was to show religious conservatives that the candidate genuinely cared about their issues.

“People were, before, just kind of wringing their hands thinking, what kind of mess do we have here, what kind of choice do we have,” Perkins said. “I think he stopped the… ambivalence that was out there toward John McCain.”

Andrews agreed, explaining: “When they see McCain’s actual position and him talking about it, it makes a difference, instead of looking at roll call tallies.”

“McCain’s performance was so genuine and so real,” Bell added. “This became clearly, no longer that, ‘This is the best of the two choices,’ and moved from that over to, ‘This is a great, great candidate that we need to get behind.’”

Some conservatives were less impressed by McCain’s performance. Bob Enyart, a director of Colorado Right to Life, called McCain’s anti-abortion statements “a stunning contradiction to his entire political career,” and criticized the presumptive GOP nominee for failing to support Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker’s proposed Life at Conception Act, which would attempt to extend legal protection to prenatal life.

“Either he had a heartfelt conversion on Saturday, or this is more manipulative electioneering,” Enyart said.”

For most religious conservatives, however, McCain’s performance stood out as especially praiseworthy in contrast to that of Obama.

“What Saturday night provided was the closest view of the contrast between the two candidates that we’ve seen,” Perkins said, adding that he found Obama’s performance meandering and evasive.

Obama has trailed McCain among white evangelical voters throughout the campaign - in June, a Pew poll showed him losing that group 61 percent to 25 percent - but he has reached out to these voters on subjects such as faith-based initiatives in the hope of winning a larger slice of that demographic group than previous Democratic presidential candidates.

But Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, said the general election is bringing clarity to the race for social conservatives, many of whom backed candidates other than McCain in the Republican primary.

“When you have eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve candidates running, it takes people a while to get enthused,” Scheffler said. “When you have a choice between someone you agree with on 80 percent of issues and someone who agreed with you on zero, the choice becomes crystal clear.”

McCain’s work courting Christian conservatives, however, is far from complete. With his party’s convention approaching and the announcement of a vice presidential candidate slated for Aug. 29, McCain may need to take advantage of these opportunities to keep reaching out to this key Republican constituency.

Land mentioned McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention as an opportunity for him to build excitement among Christian conservatives about his candidacy.

“You’ve got to gin up the base,” Land said, suggesting that McCain should make social issues a central element of his convention address and adding: “I think he will come a lot closer to sealing the deal if he picks a pro-life running mate.”

Indications have surfaced this week that McCain might deviate from party orthodoxy by choosing an abortion-rights supporter, such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, as his running mate. On Sunday, Ridge told "Fox News Sunday" that he thought the GOP would be open to a vice presidential candidate who supports abortion rights.

“The party will just implode” if McCain makes such a choice, Perkins warned. “[Social conservatives] are going to have to know that he’s totally committed to these issues, and that’s going to require a running mate that has an even better ability to communicate with the base than John McCain has.”

[minnick8-2009]

I wish McCain would pick Mitt Romney for a running mate. He would fill the void regarding McCain''s knowledge of the economy, and Romney is also pro-life.

[ioweign]

McCain''s record speaks for itself.

Posted by mr2258 at 10:08 AM : Aug 21, 2008


And the GOP has gone Green.

MCCain is 100 Percent Recycled Bush...

[dnsallday]

truthmatterz, You comments about Mrs. McCain calls to mind the unpatriot, unAmerican comments of Mrs. Obama! Want to discuss those?

Posted by StLouisMan3
********************************************************* I heard first hand the comments of Mrs. Obama. They were neither unpatriotic or unAmerican. I don''t depend on lounge acts to interpret things for me and tell me how I should view them. I think for myself and make my own decisions.

I can understand how you would want to change the subject though, rather than talk or think about what it might mean that Cindy McCain has been caught in one lie after another (in this past 6 months alone) and it is well documented by the Christian Science Monitor.

It matters to some people that somebody with a large corporation would do or say anything to get her husband even more power than he already has.
And his favors so far getting bills passed have rewarded her greatly.
His flip flop on the tax cuts for the wealthy will save them $400,000 a year and that is just one example.

[dnsallday]

truthmatterz---I keep telling you to stop listening to the media.Obama is not the man they say he is.McCain''''s record speaks for itself.If truth really matters to you.Seek the truth....
posted by mr2258
**********************************************************please stop repeating yourself. I have responded to this statement more than once.

Do you have a drug problem?

[dnsallday]

truthmatterz, Since by your own words "I knew better than to vote for George Bush" and thus not voting for the winner of the election maybe you will be supporting the loser of this election in terms of Obama too. Keep it up, keep supporting the losing end of the elections!!

Posted by StLouisMan3
******************************************************** That is where you and I probably have the largest difference. Winning isn''t the only thing that matters to me. I was raised with values where honesty, honor and integrity were very important in my family and community
I will not vote for somebody who doesn''t share those values. So yes, George Bush won and John McCain might too, but I will still have my integrity and win or lose, so will both of their opponents.

[mymymymy99]

McCain and his staff studied the exact debate questions right before McCain was to appear. They listened to the Obama portion and had all of their answers worked out while they had the chance. Why would McCain and his staff not take advantage of the situation?

[joe_transit]

I always thought this guy was on the verge of senility, then I stumbled upon him on UTube. I encourage anyone pro McCain to view. This guy is not fit to run our country. Not only is he too old, he is lost in his seven back yards.

[dnsallday]

Cindy McCains lies are beginning to mount almost as fast as John McCains are.

The Christian Science Monitor called the campaign out on it.
I thought the lies she told about her plagiarized family recipes and then the lies about the supposed cookie recipe incident were kind of silly but this is a bit more disturbing to me because it involves her daughter.
That''s just sad, and on the heels of the other story about the sisters Cindy McCain refuses to acknowledge, it''s becoming downright bizarre.

The latest embellishments come from the McCain camp. Cindy McCain has repeatedly referred to herself as an %u201Conly child.%u201D
This week came news that she actually has two half sisters, that she doesn%u2019t acknowledge.

The McCain campaign had also put out the story that Mother Teresa %u201Cconvinced%u201D Cindy to bring home two orphans from Bangladesh in 1991.

Mrs. McCain, it turns out, never met Mother Teresa on that trip. (After the campaign was contacted by the Christian Science Monitor, the campaign revised the story on its website.)

I''m actually a bit surprised by this, but I really shouldn''t be, considering the woman has been caught in massive lies before, like stealing from her own charity to support her drug habit for starters.

All of these lies start to add up and you really have to wonder what else Cindy McCain and the McCain campaign are lying about.

[dnsallday]

truthmatterz---I keep telling you to stop listening to the media.Obama is not the man they say he is.McCain''''s record speaks for itself.If truth really matters to you.Seek the truth....
Posted by mr2258 at 10
************************************************************
I feel very confident in my enthusiastic support for Barack Obama. I tend to do my own research and have the time to personally listen to their interviews and speeches and interviews with people who know the candidates well.

I feel very confident in my own ability to analyze what the candidates have to offer. I rarely rely on the media to tell me how I should interpret things. I listen to them, but usually dont'' agree with them.

I knew better than to vote for George Bush.
In 2000 I had already did enough research to know that he was a failure who relied on his fathers name and political connections. He was a shallow party boy who cared nothing about this country or about anybody but himself. I knew he would be dangerous.

John McCain is very identical to George W. Bush.

[dnsallday]

truthmatterz---I keep telling you to stop listening to the media.Obama is not the man they say he is.McCain''''s record speaks for itself.If truth really matters to you.Seek the truth....

Posted by mr2258
**********************************************************
See that is where we differ, I don''t look to other people to tell me that up is down.
I listen to what the candidates say during interviews, and then I find out if what they say is true or not. Because I will not support a liar who is willing to dishoner themselves in their quest for power.
McCain has done that many times over.
When somebody lies as regularly as John McCain does, he is showing a blatant disregard and disrespect for the American people.

Did you watch the CNN Special of the two candidates. McCain in his own words (lies) and public documents that do not match in any regard what he says.

I have discovered that the difference between a news sites. A liberal or progressive news site, is sourced with links that allow you to easily see for yourself, the entirety of a speech or interview and make your own analysis.

Whereas the conservative sites take things out of context and only show you the perspective they want you to see. In other words, they are pushing you to think a certain way. Yes, you can research and do the work yourself but most people dont and that is why we have so many misinformed Americans.

[luvienne]

Not in my opinion. Both Mccain and Warren are suspect.Yet Obama didn''t get any credit when he went to Iraqi. Yet Obama didn''t get any credit for trying to encourage Iraqi withdrawal. Now Rice and Iraqi officials are working on a withdrawal pact. But Mccain wants to stay 100 years. Now Georgia/Russia conflict is not being diffused. Pres. Mccain sent his team(what promises had he already made and what money exchanged hands?) inquiring minds want to know.

[mr2258]

truthmatterz---I keep telling you to stop listening to the media.Obama is not the man they say he is.McCain''s record speaks for itself.If truth really matters to you.Seek the truth....

[dnsallday]

I am a little surprised to see that McCain is so willing to give up whatever integrity he had in his quest to be all powerful. I''ve watched him tell lie after lie to our faces and then when held accountable he simply denies he ever said it. (He still doesn''t know that in 2008, this stuff is all on video??).

So I have accepted that he will be just like the other Bush who never gave a fig about Americans either.

I am still find myself wondering why the people who support McCain hate Americans so much though.

They seem eager to expose themselves as ignorant people and think that we are going to accept what they say?

Why such a lack of respect for fellow Americans?

What''s in it for you?

How do you feel you have benefited from the 8 years of George Bush, that you are so willing to basically work for the Bush re-election campaing by trying lying about Obama in order to push McCain?

Anyone who believes McLiar is McStupid

[jackdems]

LYNCHBURG, Va. %u2014 Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) personally went on the attack Wednesday on a best-selling new book that falsely describes him as a closet Muslim.

Talking about "The Obama Nation," Obama said author Jerome Corsi was just making "stuff up."

%u201CBut it gets a lot of play on Fox News,%u201D he said to loud boos.

The news network has interviewed Corsi.

Obama said GOP attackers %u201Cwill run negative ad after negative ad, attack after attack, with the goal of making you lose focus on the issues. %u2026 and focus on me and try to make me out to be a risky, scary guy.%u201D

%u201CNow I must say: I don%u2019t find myself particularly scary or particularly risky," he said.

--------------------------------------------------
OBAMA SHOULD BE CAREFUL WHAT HE SAYS, FOX NEWS IS REGARDED BY ALMOST AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF DEMOCRATS AS WELL.

And yes Obama your Past is questionable and you are scary and your experience and past would make you risky.

[jackdems]

B. Hussein Obama tells us to "inflate our tires." He tells us "we can''t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times," lest third-world tyrants who already hate our guts anyway, won''t like us for it.

And then, to add insult to injury, this "messiah" tells us that drilling for more oil is "not real" and won''t "solve our problems."

You already know that inflating your tires, sweating like a pig in the summer or freezing in the winter isn''t going to drive the cost of gasoline down or put food into the mouth of a hungry child.

You already know that demand for oil is worldwide and that no amount of depravation (that''s liberal-speak for conservation; Conservatives understand the true meaning of the word) is going to stop the rapidly increasing demand for oil that is coming from developing countries such as China and India.

And you already know that if this "messiah" --B. Hussein Obama -- has his way, we would use LESS OIL, demand would STAY SKY-HIGH, PRICES WOULD continue to RISE and Americans would just have to GET USED TO LIVING WITH LESS!

But there IS something you can do to stop liberals like Pelosi and B. Hussein Obama from spreading the misery across America.

[madkey1]

Wake up people. Mccain isn''t anything but a liar and a cheat. Wake up before its too late.

[madkey1]

Maybe Mccains tough talk could get us into 3 wars the 3rd one being Georgia. Atleast he''ll show Bush up with 2 wars. The Republican Party is Right Wing, and have no intentions of doing anything to turn this country around.

[madkey1]

Mccain has lied repeatedly on several issues and even positions of his rival. Mccain has stole a passage from Wikipedia for his speech then turned around and stole the cross story from another military soldier to make his own. Now he''s cheating to look good because he sucks as a candidate. If the American people are stupid enough to vote for Mccain than they will get exactly what he''s promising them, more of the same. Good Luck

[madkey1]

This just proves how stupid Americans are. Thats why our economy is in shambles and were in a openend 2 wars in Iraq. Mccain cheated, Pastor Warren stood infront of his congregation and lied. Pastor Warren said " We have placed Sen. Mccain in a cone of Silence and Mccain wasn''t in the building. Mccain overheard the questions prepared for them and thats why he did so well. Unfortunately for Mccain, he may have gotten a bump for cheating but it will only disappointed his supporters who think he did really well and spoke well during a debate when he wont have the questions to prepare for, and the real Mccain shows up. Studdering, mispronouncing words, maybe even a gaffe or two. In a way I''m glad Mccain cheated because it will only make him look more stupid when he flops during the debates.