During one of my characteristically hubristic moments, I ran for City Council in Colorado Springs. I ran for a district seat, one of four in the city. In the process I routinely associated with candidates for the other district seats as well as those running for the four at-large council positions. I made friends with several of them and often met for breakfast or a cup of coffee with them throughout the campaign and later during their tenure.
In one particularly memorable meeting a more experienced political type counseled me on my straight-forwardness. He cautioned that there was nothing wrong with being principled but to win an election the goal is to “leave no votes on the table.” In other words, don’t give people a reason to not vote for you. They might be tough to convince to vote FOR you, but at least don’t confirm their choice to NOT vote for you.
What he was describing was our pluralistic society in which we all have different priorities and positions on major issues. If I lose 40% of the voters on the abortion issue and lose 40% of the voters on gun control and then lose 40% of the voters on tax policy, it won’t be the same 40%. In very short order I will have created a significant majority that is staunchly opposed to me.
The secret is not to say very much and even what you do say is not quite as adamant as it might be. Barak Obama is the reigning champion in that event. He has demonstrated the ability to say nothing at all very eloquently and convincingly. He seems to succeed in being all things to almost all people. But, Lincoln was right about not being able to attain the “all of the people, all of the time,” goal. That is becoming increasingly apparent.
I couldn’t bear watching the Saddleback Shootout live. I tried once during the first hour, but the quickest view of Sen. Obama with the clearly coached, hyper-sincere head cocked over his right shoulder posture was too much to allow me to continue so soon after dinner. I knew I could get it all later.
I read the news and the blogs the next day and then opened up the viddie in a tab so that I could listen as I worked elsewhere while not having to watch. Can I say that there were no surprises?
When faced with unscripted questions, an unstructured environment and a need to spontaneously respond to policy issues the poor Messiah is left adrift. If you needed a picture to illustrate the phrase, “there is no THERE, there” he would be it. He rambles, he stutters, he hems, haws and harrumphs. He strings together imagery and visions of sugar-plums while clearly attempting to leave no votes on the table. Without core values and driven by incredible ambition he condescendingly attempts to circumlocute the difficult into simplistic terms which the unwashed can grasp. Not surprisingly it doesn’t work very well.
The easily foreseeable question in a Christian forum is going to be regarding abortion. It wouldn’t take a campaign staff to predict that and forge a pithy, concise answer. When it came in the form of “when do you think life begins?” the answer from McCain was personal, unequivocal and to the point, “at conception.”
How did Sen. Obama deal with it? First he said:
”Whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is, you know, above my pay grade.”
And then he continued:
“But let me speak more generally about the issue of abortion. Because this is something, obviously, the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is that there is a moral and ethical element to this issue. And so I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue is not paying attention.”
Got that? He is a US Senator, one of the 100 most powerful people in the country and seeking to be the President. He is asked what his personal position is. Not what he wants, what he would legislate, what he would support or defend, but simply what he, as an individual, thinks. He defers his opinion to a higher power in an attempt to remain all things to all people. CNN likes to refer to that sort of perseveration as “nuanced.”
So, where is Harry S Truman and his desk plaque, “The Buck Stops Here”, now that we need him?
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