Now we know why Obama shuns McCain

Last May Barack Obama boldly declared that he would debate John McCain “anywhere, anytime,” and McCain responded with an invitation to Obama to participate in about a dozen Town Hall meetings around the country.As Obama’s lead in the polls has continually slipped and the more Americans get to know him, his mantra has changed to “no way, no how, no time.”And Saturday night we found out why.McCain whipped Obama in an almost one-on-one appearance at the Saddleback megachurch in Southern California. The two candidates sat on the same stage, but in separate interviews, answering the same questions back-to-back.No one but the campaign staff of Obama thought he even came close to matching McCain for decisive, clear and understandable answers offered up by Pastor Rick Warren. Without a TelePrompTer to display his script, Obama is lost on subjects ranging from international threats to history to personal values.For wisdom and advice in the White House, Obama said he would rely on his wife, his grandmother and possibly Sen. Sam Nunn or politicians like him.Let’s take those one at a time, beginning with his wife. Think: Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush. There’s a great foreign-policy or economic team.As for grandmothers, Obama sees his - the woman who actually raised him - only occasionally during the year. Can’t you just see him calling grandma on the red phone at 3 a.m.?And then there is Sam Nunn, a logical and sensible choice, but what good is one out of three?McCain’s answer was in sharp contrast: He would rely on a successful military general, a civil-rights leader and a top business executive.One other question, “When does life begin?” McCain had a straightforward answer: “At conception.”Obama rambled on without answering the question (an emerging trademark of his style), saying such a weighty issue “is above my pay grade.” It certainly wasn’t above his pay grade when he was making far less, casting votes on abortion issues.But the stakes, like the pay grade, seem to be higher now than merely the lives of unborn babies. Barack Obama is running for president.And then there was the real clincher, the question about the most agonizing decision each man has ever made. For Obama it was his choice to abuse drugs and alcohol as a teenager.It was somewhat different for McCain, who cited his decision to remain a captive of the brutal Viet Cong - who were torturing him and his fellow POWs - rather than to accept the offer of freedom and hand America’s enemy a propaganda bonanza. He chose to remain in cruel prison camps instead.There’s a difference between choosing to do drugs and choosing to endure three more years of torture in a POW camp. (The reason that McCain can’t raise his arms above his shoulder, like most politicians, is because of injuries inflicted by his captors.)The contrasts went on and on, growing more defining by the moment. In matters of clarity, history, personal experience, comfort, there was no contest. Even Obama’s wife and grandmother wouldn’t have been able to save him from the embarrassing night. We can only hope that the three TV anchors who will be hosting the official pre-election debates in September and October will have learned something from Warren, the soft-spoken clergyman who conducted last weekend’s discussion.His performance was even-handed, noncombative and pointed. It provided the candidates an open opportunity to express their views on a wide range of subjects - for better or worse. The moderator may have been fair and even, but the results certainly weren’t. Obama’s performance was so lacking that his campaign actually accused McCain of cheating - having somehow had access to the questions before the discussions started. A representative for Saddleback Church refuted that claim with a minute-by-minute accounting of McCain’s time leading up to his appearance on the stage, following Obama’s time with Warren.Because Obama has reneged on his offer to meet McCain “anywhere, anytime,” there will be only three more shared-stage appearances by the two candidates.Both will be the traditional, predictable formats the TV networks presented during the primary season, hopefully without the inane and time-consuming questions from outsiders looking for their 15 seconds of fame.Don’t expect any of these events to be more revealing than what we watched last week.

As I have done in the past this is a guest post. Chuck Green wrote this post. Chuck is the retired editor of the Denver Post who has moved to our fine community. I consider Chuck not only a neighbor, but a friend.