What I enjoyed most about this forum was how Rick Warren kept the tone civil. Neither candidate spoke harshly about the other. Each was given a chance to tell America who they are and what they stand for. Rick asked important questions that believers ought to ask from those who wish to lead us. But most importantly, I think that Rick was able to show America that these two candidates, as opposite as they are, are not the evil persons you hear about on talk radio. He knows both candidates as friends and he treated them with respect. I took away from the forum a new picture of each candidate. Of Barack Obama, I saw an intelligent and thoughtful man of great courage, to come before an audience he knew to favor his opponent. My impression of John McCain is that he will lead from his heart, rather than his intellect. I respect both candidates more now than before Rick Warren's civil forum.
I've also found that if I'll turn off talk radio and if I don't listen to those political analysts who try to tell us what the candidate really meant to say, that I'm less prone to anger and hatred. I think the same thing is true whether you're listening to Rush and Sean or to Tom Joyner and Al Franken, or whether you watch CNN or Fox News. The people who report on, and who spin these candidates, are worse than the person they want to defeat.
I want to thank Rick Warren for showing us how to keep civility in a civil forum. His credibility allows him access to the most powerful people in the world, and I believe that that is what Christians ought to be fostering rather than fear. After all, the hearts of the kings are in the hand of God. God doesn't want His children to live in fear of the person in office of even the most powerful country on earth. Nor does He want us to depend upon our government to meet our needs - that's His job.
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