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Saddleback Spokesman on Cone-of-Silence-Gate
August 18, 2008 3:37 PM
A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for Saddleback Church and Pastor Rick Warren, says that the campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has assured the organizers of Saturday night's "Civil Forum" that McCain did not "see or hear any of Senator Obama's appearance."
But as for the question the McCain campaign won't answer -- did anyone with McCain, given the questions via email or cell phone, share them with the senator -- Ross says, "I cannot speak to that."
Before the forum, Ross says, "both candidates agreed to the format of two consecutive interviews." Based on a coin toss, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, went first, and both candidates also "agreed to and understood that in order to maintain a level playing field, Sen. McCain wouldn't see or hear any of Sen. Obama's appearance."
Officials at Saddleback did everything they could to maintain what Warren jokingly called a "cone of silence."
"We made every efforts on the campus" to maintain an integrity to the process, Ross says. In the green room where McCain waited for Obama to finish, a Saddleback staffer even went in and "completely disabled" a TV monitor. "He made sure there was no signal in that room."
Last week Warren spoke with both candidates -- McCain on Thursday, Obama on Friday -- and outlined the four basic categories of the questions. "He also gave them general themes," Ross says, "like, 'There will be a tax question,' 'There will be an environment question.' He did not give them specific wording except on two questions, and he did that because this forum was new ground and he didn't want them to be nervous, he wanted them to be comfortable."
Those two questions were: What is your greatest moral failure and the greatest moral failure of the United States?; and who are the three wisest people you know?
Warren also decided to press his proposal to have an emergency fund to care for orphans, and decided to give them a heads up, but he was only able to reach Obama with that question, partly because McCain arrived late, Ross says, at around 5:20 pm Pacific.
"So it was a level playing field except Obama had the extra Intel of that question," Ross says.
Ross demurred when asked if it bothers him or Pastor Warren that the McCain campaign has so far refused to say no one told the senator about the questions Obama was asked, though he did note that "the language the McCain campaign used" in its conversations with Saddleback officials was that he didn't hear or see the broadcast itself.
August 18, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (342)
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People hate Obama because he has a platform and substance. They hate Obama because he is smarter than McCain on every issue. People hate McCain because he's McCain..Straight (narrow) talk (lies) that prove one thing. Age doesnt make him wise it just makes him a better liar.
Posted by: Lorraine, NC | Aug 19, 2008 5:17:46 AM
McCain thinks five million a year is considered tobe rich then I am not even poor just invisible. He thought the country was showing growth and prosperity until he left the bubble he lives in and realized people are suffering. My family and our friends want a president the knows the price of gas, mild, bread, and understands how energy and waste are problems we don't want to leave our childen. I was born and raised republican, but I am never making that mistake again. Fool me once its on you fool me twice it's on me. I was fooled again and again by the republicans, but will not be fooled again.
Posted by: Lorraine, NC | Aug 19, 2008 4:52:18 AM
What's up with Barack Obama bringing up armed conflict with China, just for kicks? Why would that be at the top of his head? And of all weeks to pay lip service to "Bosnia"--first Hillary takes a dive talking about "sniper fire," and now this. Troublemakers.
Posted by: marge | Aug 19, 2008 3:08:40 AM
I can't believe believe that some people think it do not matter if McCain had known the questions before hand or not, he still appear strong and presidential. The matter is INTEGRITY.
Posted by: steve | Aug 19, 2008 2:29:44 AM
Except for the abortion question, Obama did a great job with the questions. It was a difficult answer for a pro-choice candidate, but he needed to phrase it better. The answers were far better rounded and more intellectual. McCain's answers were war and more war.
McCain "I will chase bin Laden to the gates of hell," is his standard stump farce. I know how to get bin Laden and win wars, but you have to elect me first before I will share my genesis.
I do not know why General Petraeus is at the top of his list since McCain already knows how to do something that Petraeus has not been able to accomplish.
Posted by: Julie | Aug 19, 2008 2:20:24 AM
gl...that's right, all us angry Hillary supporters are just going to join hands and sing Obama's praises after the convention....NOT. Many thousands of us will be backing Senator John Sydney McCain and that's a fact, as much as many Obots want to think otherwise. Can't wait til the analysis is done after Obama loses and they see it was the women voter block that was Obama's problem.....we HILLARY SUPPORTERS FOR McCAIN!
Posted by: Debra | Aug 19, 2008 1:46:07 AM
Obama is not up yet becasue of Hilliary angry supporters. I can not wait until this convention is over and Hillilary angry supporters have to let go of their dream and support Obama.
Posted by: gl | Aug 19, 2008 12:56:25 AM
Until Saturday i was a strong Obama supporter because he was a different kind of politician. After seeing him bob and weave with each question he has proven to me he is just another politicain. Say anything to win. It's depressing but I don't know what he stands for anymore, if anything. At least McCain says what he believes.
Posted by: Dan | Aug 19, 2008 12:26:31 AM
Monday night, 655pm, during World News Tonight...
Rick Warren advertises his book.
First time in a long time. An expensive buy. Maybe.
Or did Charlie Gibson suggest it?
Posted by: kravitz | Aug 19, 2008 12:26:15 AM
"I am not like some whites who will never vote for a black person to be the President.
Posted by: gl | Aug 19, 2008 12:19:59 AM
________________
Nor am I!
But Barack Obama is N O T a Colin Powell!!!!
Posted by: EYES OPENING | Aug 19, 2008 12:24:00 AM
gl
If you think that the dems are really for everybody take a good look at the major cities of this country, especially Detroit and Cleveland. Dems have controlled the governments in those cities for decades ... AND THEY CONTINUE TO BE A DISASTER. ONE WOULD THINK THAT YOU PEOPLE WOULD SOMEHOW WAKE UP!!!
Posted by: Manitu | Aug 19, 2008 12:22:20 AM
LMAO!!
Obama didn't want to be first, because he could not piggyback on McCain answers like he did with Hillary Clinton's.
Remember how it went '-I agree with Hillary, and blah, blah,(insert her ideas here, changing a few words), blah blah, (insert some nonsense here), blah blah' (Applause)
Posted by: Rick | Aug 19, 2008 12:06:30 AM
There is scuttlebutt that Georgia was but Putin's test to see Obama's response. Better than he had hoped for. Interesting days ahead??
Posted by: Jimbo | Aug 18, 2008 11:42:29 PM
Makes you wonder, what IS his pay grade ? Higher than necessary, I guess.
Posted by: mikewolf9 | Aug 18, 2008 11:39:55 PM
I don't see way being vetted by this purpose driven nut is so important. But, that's America today. Used to be called pandering. Obama's fumbling when off script is nothing new. McCain was passable, no better.
Posted by: mikewolf9 | Aug 18, 2008 11:37:46 PM
Isn't it obvious that the McCain campaign broke the cone of silence and deliberately made Barack Obama sound terrible at Saddleback?
Only losers accuse their opponents of cheating, so I guess that means the Obama campaign understands that Obama lsot.
So true!
Posted by: gl | Aug 18, 2008 11:31:12 PM
Obama's performance in CA was just awful. McCain looked presidential. Obama looked exactly like the political hack that he is...
Posted by: Jimbo | Aug 18, 2008 11:29:44 PM
It was a free speech forum giving the candidates a chance to present their positions to the audience.
Even if the Obama fans were to eliminate McCain from this forum, Obama, on his own, still would have come out as a salesman who had not done his homework for an important presentation.
I can't remember a presidential candidate ever giving a more preposterous answer as Obama's "It's above my pay grade."
Of course, the adoring media loved it and called it "nuanced."
I would suggest a new entry in the Merriam Webster dictionary of the word "nuanced", euphemism for "flip flop."
Posted by: Donoke9-10 | Aug 18, 2008 11:29:04 PM
'But as for the question the McCain campaign won't answer -- did anyone with McCain, given the questions via email or cell phone, share them with the senator -- Ross says, "I cannot speak to that."'
Obviously Ross can't answer that as he is connected with the church, not with the McCain campaign. So who has asked the McCain campaign these questions, when, and where? I find no reference to these questions being asked of the McCain campaign on any other news site. Did you yourself ask the campaign, and if so, what was there response to you(exact quote and source please).
Remember: who, what, when, where and why?
Posted by: You're kidding | Aug 18, 2008 11:20:36 PM
Obama supporters are to dumb to understand this, but knocking McCain's military record is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE!! NOTICE THAT OBAMA DOES NOT TOUCH IT... WHY?? OBAMA DOES NOT HAVE ANY MILITARY RECORD... DUH...
Posted by: Jimbo | Aug 18, 2008 11:20:10 PM
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