Saddleback

Lots of discussion today about whether or not John McCain cheated on Saturday night. Did he have access to the questions he'd be asked by Pastor Rick? It turns out that McCain wasn't quite in the "cone of silence" but riding in a car, while Barack Obama was being grilled. So it's entirely possible that he was tipped, by aides, on some the questions he'd be getting. But I will say this: Even if he had no advance help whatsover, McCain's performance would have been exactly the same. That's who he is. I've heard every one of those anecdotes, every one of those answers before. And as Sally Quinn argues today, it's very effective.

Obama was all right, but not great. Both Bill Kristol and Paul Krugman are insightful today on the Obama campaign doldrums of the moment. Seems to me that given all that church talk during the Saturday night festivities--and given Rick Warren's well-documented ministry to the "least of these"--Obama had plenty of room to emphasize the decidedly unChristian nature of Republican economic policies. He might have quoted Jesus on how difficult it is for rich people to go to heaven: "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle..." and said something like, "I want it be easier for rich people to get in...We need to tax them more for their own good. "

Of course, that's 20-20 hindsight, pretty easy in retrospect. But Krugman does make an important point: If Obama is going to win this, he's got to turn every answer toward the economy. He's got to convince white working class America that's all he thinks about, that he's relentlessly practical, that he's angry about their pain. He has to be more direct. Obama's answer on Warren's clever abortion question--When do fetuses have human rights?--was downright Kerryesque in its circumambulation and evasion ("It's above my pay grade.") He needed to say front up: "Pastor Rick, you and I disagree on this. I'm pro-choice and like most pro-choice people, I think we need to make abortion available, but also as rare as possible. We can talk about ways to do that, but look: if you're going to make your choice on this one issue, I'm probably not your guy."

There's a long way to go, and this was a valuable exercise. It was important to see how attractive a candidate John McCain can be when he's not indulging in the negative swill that has defined his campaign so far. It was important that Rick Warren was able to show the new face of evangelicism--a faith as concerned with the Beatitudes as it is with the fire and brimstone imagery of Revelation. And it was and importnat reminder to Barack Obama: Being thoughtful isn't enough. You've got to be willing to fight for the presidency, even in a church.