As predicted, Rick Warren is 'the loser' of the Presidential Candidate's Forum.
Here is an early sampling:
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Despite Assurances, McCain Wasn’t in a ‘Cone of Silence’
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: August 17, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. — Senator John McCain was not in a “cone of silence” on Saturday night while his rival, Senator Barack Obama, was being interviewed at the Saddleback Church in California.
....
Mr. Warren, the pastor of Saddleback, had assured the audience while he was interviewing Mr. Obama that “we have safely placed Senator McCain in a cone of silence” and that he could not hear the questions.
After Mr. Obama’s interview, he was joined briefly by Mr. McCain, and the candidates shook hands and embraced.
Mr. Warren started by asking Mr. McCain, “Now, my first question: Was the cone of silence comfortable that you were in just now?”
Mr. McCain deadpanned, “I was trying to hear through the wall.”
THE DAILY KOS (liberal political blog)
Warren Caught in Lie on CNN wrt 'Cone of Silence'
by Paul Anderson
Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 05:43:34 AM PDT
From my reading, Warren has contradicted himself and exposed himself as a liar.
Put simply: I don't see how Warren thought McCain was at the church when he made his claims about this "cone of silence" on TV during the forum... when he now also explicitly says he gave Obama a preview question before the event that he couldn't give McCain because he wasn't there yet.
Warren slipped up in my opinion, and has made a huge mistake. If this is the contradiction I think it is, it means he lied (not was confused, but knowingly lied) on TV during the event by saying McCain was in this now mythic "cone of silence"... and he did so in order to protect the sham integrity of his forum for a Republican who he knew may have cheated. And of course he lied on CNN just now as well, a clip and transcript of which are found below.
Someone has some splanin' to do. There may be an explanation, but my bet is it's not a particularly good one, and not one that we should necessarily take very seriously at this point if all we have to go on afterwards is his word of honor. We should also add that if it was a purpose driven lie in order to help McCain in any way, I've heard that has tax implications for his so-called church, (ie his political action committee).
That is an early sampling of Warren being skewered in the mainstream press and also in the liberal political press. Last night (Sunday night), Warren was interviewed on CNN about his claim that McCain had been put in 'a cone of silence.' Warren played it off and assured the interviewer that McCain had agreed not to listen in and that Saddleback staff had 'flat out asked him' if he had - McCain said he had not. But Warren admitted that McCain was not at the church prior to the start of the Forum.
Yet to come, how Warren is blasted in the conservative and 'Christian' media.
2 comments:
Hope Warren's techniques don't get criticized too much because it will take away from the event as a whole. I actually loved the format. I found it interesting that each one got the same questions, and there was less "bickering" than we often see in some of the mainstream-moderated debates.
The event itself is getting good reviews actually. Warren created a good, civil, conversational format with none of the typical 'gotcha' stuff. He asked questions in a manner and on topics (generally) that 'ordinary' people could relate to. He was even-handed. The problem was that his audience was not even-handed. Because they were 'his' audience their bias somewhat rubbed off -- so he was sure to be attacked as really being a GOP shill. Still, I think the very fact that CNN re-aired it showed that it was well received.
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