Saturday night at the Saddlebrook Church in California, Barack Obama and John McCain took turns answering questions from Pastor Rick Warren, author of the bestselling “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

Although they appeared separately, they were asked the same questions, questions meant to elicit human responses from men in the middle of the cold machinery of a presidential campaign.

McCain gave the far superior performance, surprising even his supporters who were anticipated the upcoming debates with a mix of anxiety and low expectations. He was so focused, principled, real, and commanding that the Obama people have been reduced to alleging that McCain cheated. Have you noticed that whenever their guy does badly, Team Obama blames McCain?  McCain should take it as a compliment: Obama is so weak and insecure that he can’t even take responsibility for a poor interview performance.

One question in particular put the difference between the Grown-Up and the Deer in the Headlights into bold relief. On the abortion issue, both were asked, “At what point does a baby get human rights?”

Obama launched into a lawyerly, academic, and tortured answer: “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 my pay grade.” David Axelrod cringes. The McCain campaign puts ads into production ASAP.

“Above my pay grade.” So is the presidency.

If the guy doesn’t have the cojones to state a firm opinion about something as basic as when a baby deserves human rights, he ought to be disqualified from being president.

McCain’s answer?  “I am pro-life.” He reminded his audience of his 25 year pro-life record, and his belief that life begins at conception. Period. Take it or leave it.

No clinical deconstructions about life and death that would have made Michael Dukakis proud. No roundabout nonsensical answers that are made to sound thoughtful but are so much hot air. No equivocations, pandering, or faux soul-searching.

McCain stated his simple belief on the issue, coming from his convictions and his heart.  Obama said he had “concluded” his opinion, as if he calculated it based on greatest political benefit. To him.

McCain stated what he believed. Obama stated what he had concluded.

There were other dramatic moments, such as McCain’s statement that his most difficult decision was forgoing early POW release from Vietnam, and Obama’s statement that he wouldn’t have nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court because “I don’t think he was an exp—-”. Catching himself setting up a lack of “experience” trap, he stopped in mid-sentence and rephrased his opposition to Thomas based on his lack of “strength” as a jurist. Probably also not a coincidence that Thomas is the only black Justice, but a conservative and therefore not considered by many African-Americans as “authentically black.” That was Obama’s wink-wink to the black community that he’s “one of them.”

But of the many revealing moments, the answers about abortion were the most telling.

Obama showed pure politics.

McCain showed leadership.

Which one is truly running a “purpose-driven” campaign, for a purpose other than himself?

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