Rick Warren and the Saddleback Forum

This was a really interesting format. I was skeptical at first thinking that it was going to be more of an Oprah-fied format than I'm interested in. But I liked the ability to compare how the two men responded to the same question. We could see their different approaches. Also, I like that they had time to answer without some bell ringing to shut them off after a minute.

Obama seems to take a more cerebral response talking about questions theoretically while McCain answers more directly and, with some of these questions, seemed to display more knowledge and familiarity with the issue. They both seemed comfortable and I think they both came off well.

I'm guessing that, for Evangelical Christians, McCain did himself some good tonight. The storyline before this appearance was that Obama was making a lot of inroads with those voters. McCain hit the sweet notes for Evangelicals on issues like abortion and adoption.

In my opinion,seeing them together like this actually did McCain some good.

If you missed the forum, Ann Althouse live-blogged it.

In a final note, I think Obama made a really cheap shot against Clarence Thomas when he named him as one of the justices he wouldn't have appointed because he didn't "think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation, setting aside the fact that I disagree with his interpretations of a lot of the Constitution."

In fact he caught himself from saying that Thomas wasn't "experienced" enough.

As Glenn Reynolds wrote, "Kinda ironic, huh?"

I wonder if Obama would have said the same thing about Earl Warren not having been a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time of his elevation. The guy had been a politician and one who had supported Japanese internment at that. I'd like to know if Obama has any criticism of a justice so admired by the left.

One clear winner for tonight was Rick Warren. I bet that such a forum will now become an obligatory stopping point in every subsequent election. Maybe they'll stop going on Larry King and start showing up in front of the Saddleback congregation instead.

For those of you who watched the Forum, what did you think?