Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain were tested about their views on a wide range of topics last night during a forum hosted by well known author and pastor, Rick Warren. Here’s a summary of how they responded.
Hour 1: Obama
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says America’s greatest moral failure is not abiding by the command of Jesus in the book of Matthew to care for “the least of these.”
“That basic principle applies to poverty it applies to racism and sexism, it applies to not having, not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class,” said Obama. “There’s a pervasive sense I think that this country as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these.”
Obama said the greatest personal moral failure was his use of drugs and alcohol during his teenage years.
On abortion:
Obama says he is not sure when an unborn baby should be considered a human life worth protecting. He also could not provide an instance where he voted for legislation designed to limit abortions.
When asked by Pastor Warren when he believes a baby receives human rights, Obama did not provide a specific response. “I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,” says Obama.
Obama says he believes in Roe v. Wade not because he’s pro-abortion, but because women don’t make decisions about abortion “casually.” He suggested Americans can find common ground on ways to reduce abortions.
On marriage:
Obama said he believes marriage should be defined as a sacred union between a man and a woman, but says he would not support a constitutional amendment with such language.
“Historically we have not defined marriage in our Constitution,” he explained. “It’s been a matter of state law that has been our tradition. Now, let’s break it down. The reason that people that think there needs to be a constitutional amendment some people believe is because of the concern about same-sex marriage.”
Obama says while he is not someone who promotes same-sex marriage, he does back civil unions for homosexuals.
Hour 2: McCain
On energy:
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain says the most significant position he held 10-years ago, that he no longer holds today, was his onetime opposition to offshore oil drilling. According to the GOP White House hopeful, “We’ve got to drill here, we’ve got to drill now and we’ve got to become independent of foreign oil.
McCain contends it is a national security issue. “We’re sending seven hundred billion-dollars a year to countries that don’t like us very much,” said McCain. “[A]nd some of that money is ending up in the hands of terrorist organizations. We cannot allow this greatest transfer of wealth in history and for our national security to be threatened.”
McCain argues the U.S. needs wind, tide, solar, and nuclear power, as well as hydrogen cars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save on energy costs.
On abortion:
Unlike his rival Barack Obama, McCain declared strongly that he believes a baby is entitled to human rights at the moment of conception.
“I have a twenty-five year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate and as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies. That’s my commitment. That’s my commitment to you,” said McCain.
McCain says the issue of embryonic stem cell research has been a “great struggle and a terrible dilemma” for the pro-life movement. He acknowledged his support for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, but said he was “wildly optimistic” that skin cell research “will make this debate an academic one.”
On marriage:
McCain reaffirmed his belief that the California Supreme Court was wrong to legalize same-sex marriage.
Like his Democratic opponent, McCain stated that marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman. “I’m a federalist. I believe that states should make those decisions. In my state I hope we will make that decision. In other states they have — to recognize the unique status of marriage between man and woman,” he contends. “…that doesn’t mean that people can’t enter into legal agreements, that they don’t have the rights of all citizens.”
If a federal court decided that Arizona must abide by the Massachusetts court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, McCain said he would support a federal marriage amendment.
On religious persecution:
According to McCain, he would use the most important asset of a president — “the bully pulpit” — to call on oppressive countries like China to end religious persecution.
He invoked Ronald Reagan, who the Arizona Senator says stood for and said what he believed. “He said to those people who were then captive nations: The day will come when you will know freedom and democracy and the fundamental rights of man,” McCain noted. “Our Judeo-Christian principles dictate that we do what we can to help people who are oppressed throughout the world. And I’d like to tell you that I still think that even in the worst places in the world today and the darkest corners, little countries like Belarus, they still harbor this hope and dream someday to be like us.”
McCain called the United States “the most unusual experiment in history.”
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Tomorrow night (Saturday), White House hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain will be fielding questions from evangelical mega-church pastor Rick Warren in a presidential forum at his California church.
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