Sunday, August 17, 2008

Rick Warren's Motive

At the civil forum last night, Obama has talked about abortion and gay marriage. So has McCain. I didn't hear anything new from either candidate. 

But Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, shone the light on these issues for his flock. Genius move by Warren. Evangelicals, no doubt, will vote on those issues.

Here's why Obama needs to start pandering:
Salon: And when asked about whether there was evil in the world, McCain brought up radical Islamic terrorists, repeating his line about chasing Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell. Obama, meanwhile, brought up the genocide in Darfur, and child abuse; it was clearly a missed chance, and not just to reach the Christian conservatives watching.

People see McCain's response as a good one and Obama's as a missed opportunity. Obama isn't going to win this election by being brilliant. It doesn't seem like America is ready for that but I'd argue it's badly needed.

Obama's going to have to step up his sound bites.