The Shifting Evangelicals

E.J. Dionne has a great column in todays Post. Much has been made amongst the talking heads over the appearance of John McCain and Barack Obamma at Rick Warren's, the author of The Purpose Driven Life and an up-and-coming leader in the evangelical movement, forum last weekend. The main narrative that has been constructed by the MSM is that John McCain knocked it out of the park. This is, of course, about as surprising as 90 degree weather in August. However, Dionne strikes a number of chords that bring into focus the gravity of Obama's appearance at this forum. It demonstrates that Obama is comfortable talking about his faith, and he feels that he can use his faith to reach out to voters that normally wouldn't be inclined to vote for him. While I must admit, I was watching the Olympics and English Premier League football (Go Liverpool!) during the forum, many of the clips I saw of Obama were of him giving thoughtful answers and receiving polite applause in response. Moreover, Warren seemed to genuinely be interested in what Obama had to say; and while he didn't always agree with the Senator, he seemed to appreciate Obama's answers and he conveyed a great deal of respect for him.

McCain of course received a rousing reception (holy alliteration!), because let's be honest, most of these people are going to vote for him anyway, and he has all the right answers to the pressing social issues. However much Warren agreed with McCain's shoot-from-the-hip talking point responses, he seemed to be much more intriguied and impressed by Barack Obama. In that sense, I think you have to chalk this off as a victory for Obama. He had the guts and wherewithall to speak eloquently and thoughtfully in front of a potentailly very hostile audience, and he managed to at least gain the respect of Rick Warren and his parishoners.

It should also be noted, as alluded to by Dionne in his column, that Rick Warren seems like an inherently reasonable dude. While I find a number of his religous beliefs abhorrent, he seems to have a genuine respect for different opinions, and he's clearly an extremely intelligent individual (holy assonance!) Warren will actually invest himself in civilized discussions over issues, and conduct himself in respectable manner that serves to elevate the tone of political discourse. Barack Obama was more than happy to play along, John McCain wasn't, because frankly, he's not nearly smart enough to do so. The other note of praise I have for Warren, which Dionne again is wise to point out, is that he has brought a renewed focus on issues of poverty, hunger, and climate change that have been noticeably absent from the culture war platform of the evangelical movement for some time. I think Rick Warren would be a much better moderator of presidential debates than any of the dunces the MSM will throw at us!