McCain, Obama talk before evangelicals

Who would they listen to?
Asked to name three wise people they would listen to, Obama named his wife, Michelle; his maternal grandmother, who lives in Hawaii; and, not limiting himself to only a third, named several Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

McCain named Gen. David Petreaus, head of U.S. troops in Iraq; U.S. Rep. and veteran civil rights leader John Lewis, D-Ga.; and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a top adviser to his campaign.

He lauded her as a woman who took a five-person business into a billion-dollar piece of the economy. “It’s one of these great economic success stories,” McCain said.

Obama, asked his most significant policy shift in the last 10 years, cited welfare reform. As an Illinois state senator, he worked to mitigate what he thought could be “disastrous” effects of President Clinton’s welfare reform effort, but over time came to embrace Clinton’s approach.

“We have to have work as a centerpiece of any social policy,” Obama said.

The forum carried opportunities and risks for both candidates. It gave Obama a chance to discuss his Christian faith and counter inaccurate beliefs that he is a Muslim. But it also may have highlighted his positions on issues such as supporting abortion rights, which Warren and many other evangelicals oppose.

McCain’s positions are more in line with evangelical Christians. But he often seems uncomfortable talking about his faith and other personal beliefs, and the Christian right shows less enthusiasm for him than for past GOP contenders.

According to Saddleback Church officials, there are 2,200 people in the main room and a total of 4,200 including those watching from satellite locations.

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