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Saddleback Followup: McCain as Leader, Obama as Friend

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Sometimes when you read something, you realize right away the author is on to something. If it’s in a book, you underline it or otherwise flag the passage. If it’s on the web, you bookmark it or otherwise save the url, perhaps even cutting and pasting the salient passages into a separate file — or saving the entire document as .pdf.

And then there are notions which take time to resonate. I think it was yesterday or maybe it was the day before when I read Rich Lowry’s Corner post on the Saddleback Presidential Forum where both presidential candidates appeared with pastor Rick Warren.

I had flagged Glenn Reynolds’ roundup linking that post earlier in the week, but didn’t get around to following the links right away. If you want to read some good insights into that forum, click on those links. Lowry’s post in particular is well worth reading in its entirety.

It was the penultimate paragraph which really stood out to me. Only later, last night it was, just before bed, when it struck me that Lowry might have highlighted the most significant difference between the candidates, one which bodes very well for John McCain this fall even while acknowledging the real strengths of his Democratic rival:

In the first fifteen minutes, McCain had established a moral seriousness stemming from his conduct in Vietnam as a POW and his long-time as a national leader that Obama can’t match. Throughout the rest of the night, he brought up Iraq, al Qaeda, and the Georgia crisis, when Obama was more inward-looking. McCain sounded like a potential commander-in-chief, Obama more like a potential friend. This is not to say, again, that Obama was not impressive. But the skills he showed tonight—the thoughtfulness and verbal dexterity—were those of a very talented memoirist, which, of course, he is.

McCain as leader. Obama as friend.

Having read Obama’s first book, I agree with Lowry that the Illinois Democrat is a “very talented memoirist.” But, do those skills a good president make?

Comments

  1. This really brought it home to me – when asked who are the influential people in his life, despite being told not to say his wife, he said, wife, grandmother and I don’t remember the third.
    That is an answer ‘a friend’ gives not a leader. We don’t care that much about the personal relationships in a president’s life. We want to know which strong influential policy kind of people you look to.

    Don’t get me started on Grandma, he hadn’t seen her in 18 months, and when he finally did, he didn’t bring his children along. I guess they are not allowed to meet their white great grandmother. If he thinks so highly of her, why isn’t she included more in his life?

    That in itself precludes him from being on my friend list.

  2. I don’t think Obama would want to be friends with me. I never bombed the Pentagon. I never bombed the Capitol. I never said “G-Damn America.” And I don’t have any shady real estate investments.

  3. And I for one don’t want to be friends with SnObama. I want to be his worst nightmare – a conservative gay man who packs a gun and doesn’t eat arugula.

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  5. Jimmy,
    Pay attention. You might learn something from these fine folks that represent something you do not understand. Sacrifice and loyalty and duty to one’s country.

    My son is in Iraq and I know he will always do the right thing. Upon each of his three previous tours of duty he has come back stronger and more appreciative of our life in the USA.

    Jeb

  7. GPW and Lowry are onto something here. i don’t see how BHO gets out of this box he is in. Typically a Presidential candidate hones his skills from July to November. Getting better at presenting his ideas and selling his experiences and policy positions. Barack is already good at the presentation. The problem the Dems are now faced with is he has no experiences to draw on. No stories to tell about saving a company and developing jobs. No positive life experiences that are a window into his character, which informs you of his judgement for future decisions. As a matter of fact some of his life experiences are horrible negatives. ( Bill Ayres the terrorists, REV Wright the anti American hater.) I want to hear about this community organizer time Barack spent in Chicago. Was he a rabble rouser or did he clean up parks? McCain is surging because he is a leader, a proven leader, and his life experiences are a window into his character and soul. BHO TELLS us he is a good man and a patriot, McCain has SHOWN us he is both. The fix for the Dems is….how the heck do you get experience and a story to tell in the next 60 days. It isn’t just about presentation anymore. POOF he’s gone.

  9. I don’t think Obama would want to be friends with me.

    V, not to mention the fact that I never have any money. He’d steer clear.

    Hell, with a friend like Obamassiah, who the hell needs enemies?

  11. Comment by jeb — August 21, 2008 … i’m glad your son has the the constitution he has. he is very lucky to be so strong. but so many others are not. if there was anything this country needed to to make this struggle whole, was a draft. and that didn’t happen.

  12. #11 – michael, a draft didn’t occur because the Dhimmicrats in Congress – like John F’ing Kerry, Teddy “Swimmer” Kennedy, Joe “plagiarist” Biden, Dennis Kucinich and other powerful members – immediately opposed it because they felt it would disproportionately affect certain segments of the population.

    Or as Kerry said, “if you are stupid you get sent to Iraq.”

    Which begs the question – why isn’t he there? But I digress.

    Remember the days after 9/11? It seemed like every able-bodied man or woman was heading for a recruiting office to get back at al-Qaeda. That is what is making up our armed forces today. 9/11 was almost better than a draft – it was brave individuals making a personal choice of sacrifice and patriotism.

    History shows that in every society since man first evolved, there has been a warrior class. You are either born into it, or you train to become part of it. Not much has changed in the last four thousand years.

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  13. Peter, I disagree with your first paragraph. Democrats didn’t oppose the draft. On the contrary, Democrats called for a draft. It was Democrats like Charles Rangel who have been repeatedly introducing bills to bring back the draft.

    A draft didn’t happen because it shouldn’t happen: conscription is morally wrong. If I may say this (as a non-Republican), good Republicans are not eager to draft people. It was a Republican President who ended the draft. Conscription is part and parcel of the idea that a person’s life is the State’s to dispose of.

    Obama has called for a draft – in slightly different form. He has called for youth to engage in mandatory national service where they will live in military-style dorms and be indoctrinated with, in essence, his philosophy. That is the ‘libtard’ position… the position that a person’s life belongs to the State, which must draft them so they remember who’s boss. If michael favors a draft (i.e., if he shakes his head sadly that there isn’t one)… well, doesn’t that fit the picture perfectly?

  14. #13 – “He has called for youth to engage in mandatory national service where they will live in military-style dorms and be indoctrinated with, in essence, his philosophy.”

    Hey, didn’t that happen 75 years ago in Germany? Look how well THAT turned out for everyone.

    (Shakes head violently.)

    Regards,
    Peter H.