This past weekend, I was told that if Obama gets elected that we will be attacked again, because he is a wuss. I was then told that all he wants to do is "talk", which I assumed meant diplomacy. After this little exchange, I sat down to watch the Obama-McCain-Rick Warren extravaganza. I thought some of it was good and I liked what Warren was attempting to accomplish with this forum, although I do not believe he succeeded.
His goal was to have a civil, honest, down-to-earth discussion about the candidate's personal beliefs, character and leadership qualities. It was meant to put the campaigning aside, and just have meaningful dialogue. What's funny is that, what analysis I watched, the host and guests all seemed to think McCain had the better "performance." Now, this would typically mean that McCain won. But, in this forum, the goal was not to "perform", but to be authentic. But McCain truly did have a great performance; I have never seen a better George Bush impression in my life. McCain answered every question with as little thought and nuance as possible. Is there such thing as evil? "Yes there's evil, and it has it be defeated." What is something that ten years ago you believed, but don't today? "We have to drill here! We have to drill now!" Many times McCain didn't even look at Warren, but turned to the audience and slipped into campaign mode. I suspect he did this because, well, many Americans want a president who is cut and dry, black and white and downright simple. George Bush ran and won on that quality four years ago.
And this frustrates and scares me. I want a president who, like Obama, took a while to answer Warren's questions. Obama seemed to try and answer the questions in a thoughtful and sincere way. He played it safe on some, and I caught him being dishonest on another. But for the most part, he put a lot of thought into his answers. I want this in a president because we live in complex world. I don't want a president who has a quick short answer for questions that ought to elicit reflection and nuance. And because we live in a dangerous world, I don't want a president who is small on diplomacy and big on military action. War should be the last possible solution. Diplomacy doesn't equal wussiness. It means one understands the horrendous cost of war.
Of course, you can have someone who just thinks and never decides and that's no good. And you can have someone who just talks and talks but never acts, and that's also ineffective. But if Warren's intent was to help voters decide who to vote for based on how the candidate answers a tough question, then he further solidified my choice in Obama. Even though McCain may have had the better performance.
4 comments:
I think the most telling question he asked was, "What was the most gut wrentching decision you have ever had to make?" McCain seemed to answer authentically, whereas Obama's answer was just pathetic. As a state senator for Illinois he didn't have to take a position one way or the other on the war. Yet he answered that the most gut wrentching decision he ever had to make was opposing the war? Please. That was one of the most politically motivated answers I have ever seen.
Obama is nothing but a big slice of bologna.
My point is, that he didn't HAVE to make that decision. He CHOSE to take a stand on the war because he had national political motivations. I don't thank that came through on my first post so I thought I would clear it up....
hence, i said, "he played it safe on some." but still, he was planning on running for the U.S. senate and his support or opposition for war would affect that. whether it was THE most gut wrenching or not, i'm sure it wasn't easy.
as for mccain... with his past, sometimes it just makes things unfair. but still, in a lot of his answers he just looked like a big parody of shrub. so, :p(with hands sticking out of my ears.)
lol...
Anyways, I think he flat out lied on that one. Since he was running as a Democrat and the party was clearly making opposition to the war its key issue as early as 2003, Obama did not have a second thought when it came to that issue. He certainly was not suffering from any intestinal discomfort.
:P
(with my right hand waving, thumb planted on the tip of my nose...)
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