08-20-2008, 06:23 AM
CANDIDATES' FORUM ON FAITH
The Boston Globe
Obama earned his poor showing
August 20, 2008
RE "SADDLEBACK a comfy fit for McCain" by Alan Schroeder (Op-ed, Aug. 19): John McCain came off better than Barack Obama at Saddleback Church for a simple reason: He answered the questions. Then he added a little something extra (like the POW story) as he felt the need. Obama may have "walked a more cerebral path," but it was inevitably a long and winding one, frequently without ever answering the actual question.
The accusation that McCain was pandering is laughable. McCain gave brief, understandable answers, many of which were almost guaranteed to play well with one group and poorly with others.
Obama practically twisted himself into a pretzel trying to remain in play for everyone, and you could hear the difficulty in his voice as he tried to search for the politically viable words.
In a format designed to give viewers a feel for where the candidates stand, Obama not only didn't tell us, he appeared in many cases to be trying to hide it from us. That's why one could say he lost at Saddleback.
ART CABRAL
West Bridgewater
The Boston Globe
Obama earned his poor showing
August 20, 2008
RE "SADDLEBACK a comfy fit for McCain" by Alan Schroeder (Op-ed, Aug. 19): John McCain came off better than Barack Obama at Saddleback Church for a simple reason: He answered the questions. Then he added a little something extra (like the POW story) as he felt the need. Obama may have "walked a more cerebral path," but it was inevitably a long and winding one, frequently without ever answering the actual question.
The accusation that McCain was pandering is laughable. McCain gave brief, understandable answers, many of which were almost guaranteed to play well with one group and poorly with others.
Obama practically twisted himself into a pretzel trying to remain in play for everyone, and you could hear the difficulty in his voice as he tried to search for the politically viable words.
In a format designed to give viewers a feel for where the candidates stand, Obama not only didn't tell us, he appeared in many cases to be trying to hide it from us. That's why one could say he lost at Saddleback.
ART CABRAL
West Bridgewater