Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency and other random thoughts...

Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency and other random thoughts...

August 17, 2008

I watched and very much appreciated the Pastor Rick Warren “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency” last Saturday night.

If you have been on vacation and are not aware, Rick Warren, is the author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life" and, according to the Washington Post, “one of the country's most prominent evangelical preachers. Warren, a Southern Baptist, referred to both McCain and Obama as friends in his introductions. ‘They both care deeply about America,’ Warren said. ‘They're both patriots.’

“Each candidate was interviewed individually by Warren for an hour. The two met only briefly, embracing on the stage midway through the event as Obama exited and McCain entered.

“Warren quizzed both men on issues including their positions on abortion, the definition of marriage and the existence of evil in the world.”

Today - - I guess it was inevitable - - various spinmeisters are already parsing words and taking various answers out of context So pasted below are links to Pastor Rick and Kay Warren’s online newsroom - Broadcast Transcript Service: Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency.

For those of us who are relatively academic about matters of presidential history and the 2008 presidential campaign, the transcripts are needed for primary source information; if for no other purpose than to fact-check the various claims and counter-claims since the forum aired.

The one moment that I found unfortunate for Illinois Senator Barack Obama, was his claim that he reached across the aisle to work with Arizona Senator John McCain on a certain piece of legislation.

When it came time to vote on the bill, Senator Obama voted with the Democrats against the bill and thus began a rather rocky personal-political relationship between the two presidential hopefuls.

Interestingly enough, Senator McCain and New York Senator Hillary Clinton have become friends over the years despite their political differences. Such cannot be said for the relationship between Senators McCain and Obama.

Senator McCain more or less has been rubbed the wrong way by the young upstart Senator Obama, who spent 143 days in the Senate before beginning his quest for the presidency and has quite an “elevated opinion of himself.”

As even the most uninitiated observer is aware, Senators Clinton and Obama are not each other’s Christmas card list either…

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DATE: Saturday, August 16, 2008
TIME: 8:00-10:00 P.M. ET / 7:00-9:00 P.M. CT / 5:00-7:00 P.M. PT
LOCATION: Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, Calif.)

updated: 10:32 EDT / 9:32 p.m. CDT / 7:32 p.m. PDT

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Visit www.RickWarreNews.com for full media information, including the latest news releases.

This online newsroom is provided by A. Larry Ross Communications.

http://www.rickwarrennews.com/transcript/

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20080816 Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency