McCain's clarity trumps Obama's dexterity
By Colleen Carroll Campbell
Republican Sen. John McCain has been itching to debate Democratic Sen.
Barack
Obama all summer. Last weekend, viewers of the nationally televised
Saddleback
Civil Forum found out why.
Hosted by bestselling author and evangelical pastor Rick Warren, the forum
featured separate, hour-long interviews with the two presidential
candidates.
It was not a debate, but it gave voters a good idea of what to expect from
this
fall's general election debates.
Saturday's contest left little doubt about why Obama had reneged on his
earlier
agreement to participate in 10 town-hall-style debates with McCain this
summer,
which would have given voters more chances to query the two candidates
together. As the Obama campaign implicitly acknowledged with its sour-grapes
speculation that McCain must have known the questions beforehand, McCain
emerged the victor at Saddleback.
Calling both candidates "friends" and "patriots," Warren used the same
questions to guide his interviews of the two men. And the disparity of their
answers spoke volumes.
Although Warren repeatedly asked for concise, concrete answers, Obama's
replies
were ponderous, abstract and vacillating. He drew on his lawyerly dexterity
to
elucidate endless shades of gray in response to simple queries about such
issues as merit pay for teachers, his definition of "rich" and whether he
has
ever voted to limit or reduce abortions. Perhaps Obama's equivocation was
wise,
given that more direct answers would repel voters who do not share his
lockstep
loyalty to teachers unions and abortion-rights groups or his affinity for
tax
hikes.
A relaxed and confident-looking McCain seemed much more willing to make the
case for his ideas. He supplied short, meaty answers and shared compelling
personal stories about lessons he learned as a prisoner of war in Vietnam
and
as an adoptive father. While Obama hesitated to delineate his liberal views
on
controversial questions, McCain seized opportunities to articulate a
conservative philosophy of limited government, a strong national defense and
traditional values.
The contrast was starkest on abortion. Asked at what point a baby is
entitled
to human rights, Obama responded: "Well, I think that whether you are
looking
at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering
that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade." McCain's
reply was considerably clearer: "at the moment of conception."
The Democratic National Convention that begins Monday will allow Obama to
regain ground by reprising the soaring, light-on-specifics speeches that
have
made him famous. His acceptance speech at Denver's Invesco Field promises to
be
a grand bit of political theater that will swing momentum his way, at least
for
a time.
But Obama's real test will come when he and McCain face off in a series of
three debates, the first of which is scheduled for Sept. 26. If moderators
do
their job, those contests will consist of concrete, fast-paced,
rough-and-tumble exchanges that give voters a clear sense of the candidates'
differences.
Such exchanges rarely favor blank-slate candidates like Obama, whose dreamy
mysteriousness and chameleon-like ability to be all things to all people
look
less attractive under the harsh light of cross-examination. Obama's
weaknesses
were evident in some primary campaign debates with Sen. Hillary Clinton,
although the pair's policy similarities left little ground for substantive
disagreement.
It will be different with McCain. Facing an opponent who vigorously defends
a
worldview and record that contrasts sharply with his own, Obama's gauzy
rhetoric and platitudes about "hope" and "change" may not do him much good.
Such platitudes don't do much good in the Oval Office, either. That is
another
reason to be grateful that even in our politically correct age of
stage-managed
campaign appearances, presidential hopefuls still must meet each other
face-to-face every once in awhile to prove that they have what it takes not
just to win, but also to lead.
Colleen Carroll Campbell is an author, television and radio host and St.
Louis-based fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her website is
www.colleen-campbell.com.