Above his pay-grade, indeed

No wonder he wants to keep debate forums scripted, predictable, and teleprompted. When forced to have a meaningful debate with John McCain, Barack Obama's inexperience and shallowness comes through loud and clear. In May, Obama told McCain he would be glad to debate him "anywhere, anytime," but has so far rejected McCain's challenge of 10 one-on-one town hall debates. While John McCain excels in open, candid, town hall-style debates, Obama prefers to hide behind his teleprompter.

The two candidates had a protodebate last week in the Saddleback Civic Forum. The pastor of the Saddleback Church, Rick Warren, was the moderator. I'm not sure I like the idea of a presidential debate taking place in a religious setting like this, but both candidates did agree to it.

Here's just a few highlights:

Question: Does evil exist and if so, should we ignore it, negotiate with it, contain it or defeat it?

Obama:Evil does exist.
I mean, 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 have viciously abused 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. And I think one thing that's very important is having some humility in recognizing that, you know, just because we think our intentions are good doesn't always mean that we're going to be doing good.

Obama's reply made no reference to Iraq, Iran, al Qeda, or terrorism. Rather than confront the evil we face, he'd rather humbly blame America first.

McCain: Defeat it. Couple points - one, if I’m President of the United States , my friends, if I have to follow him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama bin laden and bring him to justice. I will do that and I know how to do that. I will get that done. No one should be allowed to take thousands of American -- innocent American lives. Of course evil must be defeated. My friends, we are facing the transcendent challenge of the 21-century, radical Islamic extremists. Not long ago in Baghdad, al-Qaeda took two young women who were mentally disabled and put suicide vests on them, sent them into a marketplace and by remote control, detonated those suicide vests. If that isn't evil, you have to tell me what is.

There you have it. McCain vowed to chase bin Laden to the gates of hell. He recognizes the evil and vows to defeat it, rather then coddle it and blame America first.

Question:At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?

McCain: At the moment of conception. I have a 25-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.

No ifs, ands, or buts. Agree with his belief or not, at least he told us exactly where he stands.

Obama:Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.

Above your pay-grade? You've got to be kidding us, right? You actually imply that there are decisions that you don't get paid enough to make, and yet we're supposed to believe you are ready to be president and leader of the Free World? Will dealing with a nuclear Iran be above your pay grade too? How about dealing with the reemergence of the Russian bear...will that be too hard for you, too? Way to take a stand there, Wonder Boy.