I saw Barack Obama and John McCain on TV last night with Rev. Warren at his Saddleback Church.  It was an interesting program, and I was glad to see Senator Obama appearing before an audience, most of whose members presumably will vote against him.  It shows that Obama does not want to write off segments of the population where he might not be popular, and that he plans on being the president of all the American people.  Of course, all new presidents make that claim, but most (George W. Bush being the most obvious example) don’t mean it. 

As far as I am concerned, Obama performed very well last night.  His answers to Rev. Warren’s questions were thoughtful, and reflected his understanding of the complexity of the issues.  When he was questioned about the legal availability of abortions, Obama said that he was pro-choice, although he believes that states can legitimately prohibit the availability of late term abortions, as long as exceptions are allowed if the health of the mother is at stake.  He further added that the real goal should be to make abortions rare, and this involves taking steps to prevent unwanted pregnancies from occurring in the first place, along with improving the support system after a live birth.  Good answer, right?

To the same question, McCain simply answered that he is pro life.  In most of the interview with McCain, he basically answered the questions by quoting his stump speeches.  John McCain is a very simple-minded politician.  I am trying to be precise with that word.  McCain is not stupid, but simple-minded in the sense that even the most complicated questions are subject to simple answers.  If he sees evil in the world, his mission is to defeat it.  It is that simple.  We must lower the taxes for all Americans.  It is that simple.  We must do whatever it takes to win the war in Iraq.  It is that simple.  The notion that resources (things like money, time, military manpower, etc.) are limited seems like an alien concept to Senator McCain.  So is the fact that there are inherent contradictions in some policies, where a single action might advance one worthy goal but work to the detriment of another. 

Is the real objective in being “pro life” to punish the patients and doctors who are involved in an abortion procedure, or is it to reduce the actual number of abortions taking place?  I get the feeling that Senator McCain has absolutely no idea that there is a difference.  Simply outlawing the procedure is not very pro life in any practical sense.  Far more effective in reducing the occurrence of abortions is making sure that teenagers have proper sex education and access to contraception (is anybody still naïve enough to believe that if we keep them ignorant on the subject, they won’t be interested?), and that day care/healthcare or adoption is available after the baby is born, so that pregnant girls or women can be confident that having the baby does not have to mean destroying their school or work plans. 

Senator McCain also wants to dramatically lower taxes for Americans at all income levels.  However, defeating evil wherever you find it is not cheap.  The U.S. is already engaged in two wars, and if McCain gets his way, neither war is likely to end soon.  By far the more expensive of these two wars was completely unnecessary.  Sometimes, it is better to contain evil than to defeat it, especially if containment is relatively cheap and defeating it is very expensive.  McCain also hints that he is ready to add a third war involving the squabbling parties in the former Soviet Union.  If the U.S. under President McCain is really going to take on the responsibility of policeman to the rest of the world, this will require raising taxes, now lowering them, and very likely also resuming a military draft.  It is either that, or continue the current administration’s policy of dramatically increasing the U.S. government’s commitments, while reducing revenue collections, sending a huge I.O.U. to our children – along with unconscionable stressing out of our current military personnel and their families even beyond the current level, which I think is already unacceptable.  If McCain is so concerned about Georgia, and wants to do something to keep Russia out of there, I wonder if it has occurred to him that the reason why the U.S. can do so little about Georgia is that most of its military resources are already engaged in that idiotic war in Iraq. 

I really believe that Senator McCain is clueless regarding the challenges of the presidency.  In last night’s setting, Rev. Warren asked McCain (and Obama) a series of friendly questions, which the candidates could easily answer with excerpts from their stump speeches.  I don’t mind there being such a program, but it will be much more illuminating if the candidates are forced by follow-up questions into explaining how they will deal with their own inconsistencies.  John McCain filled his portion of the evening with very simplistic claptrap.  It is as if he assumes (maybe correctly, but I hope not) that most of America’s voting public is only interested in the simple answers.