James and Frannie, I posted this in response to CO on this subject but would like to share it with you (sorry for the length): I heard one commentators opinion on the Saddleback Church interview, “Obama did good and McCain did great.” Considering the forum, I’m satisfied with that. Obama doesn’t have to do “great” on every forum and I really hand it to Obama for venturing into a forum most Democrats avoid and for sitting in front of that Evangelical audience and stating honestly that he is “pro-choice”. I think Obamas responses were thoughtful and genuine and if they weren’t slick enough, that’s ok, I know that doesn’t always play out well in that type of setting, but as president, that isn’t what is really required. Also, I think Obama’s gave a wonderful answer after the question… Does evil exist and, if it does, do we ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it, or do we defeat it? OBAMA: “Evil does exist. I mean, I think we see evil all the time. We see evil in Darfur. We see evil sadly on the streets of our cities. We see evil in parents who viciously abuse their children. And I think it has to be confronted. It has to be confronted squarely. And one of the things that I strongly believe is that, you know, we are not going to, as individuals, be able to erase evil from the world. That is God’s task. But we can be soldiers in that process. And we can confront it when we see it. Now, the one thing that I think is very important is for us to have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil. Because, you know, a lot of evil’s been perpetrated based on the claim that we were trying to confront evil.” Here is an analysis of Obama’s purpose for being there: The point is, Obama’s goal was not to win over everyone in the crowd, it was to start the process of changing the view of Democrats and religion. During the Gore/Kerry runs, it was almost as if Democrats tried to run away from religion. The damage that was done from the past few years is not going to be erased by Obama alone, but participating in stuff like this starts the process of recovery. That was the point. That opens the door for some religious people who value things like healthcare, getting out of Iraq, etc. to say, “well, Obama seems like a good Christian, plus I agree with him on these other things.” Obviously a big chunk of Evangelicals will not vote for Obama because he is pro-choice, but not all of them.