I am somewhat upset at the chicken littling going on over the Faith Based Forum. Obama did a great job expressing who he is. McCain gave a stump speech to his base.
The Obama campaign knew what they were getting into by entering into that forum. They were targeting the Moderate Christians and Independents, McCain simply pandered to his "base" and gained NO votes for his performance. He tethered himself firmly to Bush and his policies and you can be sure, Obama will be more than happy to use McCain's answers from tonight in future ads to make sure nobody misses it.
Remember McCain pronouncing "America" as "Amuurica"? How many times do you figure we'll be hearing that in an ad soon? How about his abortion answers? How many women will run screaming away from McCain now? Any moderate's watching his performance tonight are appalled by his obvious love of war and all that has to do with it. Obama gained votes tonight from groups other than the Evangelicals it was slanted towards. That being said, I've no doubt Jed is compiling a virtual treasure trove of clips as I type as a result of this forum.
As an Obama supporter, one has to read between the lines and look forward. What he does is planned, and planned with precision. I would urge those going into fits of clucking to think about this and look forward a day or so. Stay focused and try not to let your heads explode over things like this. One thing I think we can all agree on is; Obama is not stupid. He did this forum for a reason and he wouldn't have done it if he didn't think he was going to come out of it without a net gain in votes. IMHO, he accomplished that and more. He came off as thoughtful, pragmatic and grounded in his faith. Have faith, he accomplished much tonight!
NOTE: This is my first diary so please feel free to correct any errors I may have made. My husband is impatiently awaiting me to give up politics for the evening so I was hurrying to get my thoughts down...