For those who missed the forum and want to read what John McCain and Barack Obama had to say candidates had to say, RickWarren.com has posted the transcripts here. It's one thhing to watch and get a sense of how each candidate, but often it's a little different to see it in black-and-white.

You can also hear myself and Loretta Sanchez's district campaign field director, Marc Sussman on TheBlackRight.com, giving our perspectives on the Saddleback Civil Forum. It's starts off a little intense, as Sussman seemed to think the program was more about mau-mauing me than presenting our analysis of the forum, and it went downhill for a little while until the producer manage to restore civility.

My thoughts? I'll write Briefly: neither candidate committed any campaign-ending gaffes, but I think McCain gained more from the forum than Barack Obama.

Obama's likability shines through, but he comes across (as I said on the above program) like a guy who is continually in the process of reconsidering what he thinks. He spoke long and smoothly but without really saying very much of anything. In other words, he didn't come across as a decisive Commander-in-Chief, but more of an academic bull-session type.

McCain, on the other hand, met the questions head on and answered them directly. He came across as a man who knows what he thinks, believes he is right and will lead according to those beliefs.

I think former LA Times editor and religion reporter Bill Lobdell captured it well:

7:16 p.m.: A few closing thoughts. Rick Warren did a remarkable job. Very well done. Second, Sen. Barack Obama was good. He was personable, answered the questions thoughtful, and showed humor, intellect and depth. Sen. John McCain was even better. His rich life experience took the forum from mono to stereo, from black-and-white to color. I'm a fence-setter voter, but this forum put me on the McCain side. While Obama may be the guy I'd like to have a drink with, McCain is the guy I'd want to lead me into battle. I'm still keeping an open mind, but for now, McCain's my man.

McCain acted and spoke like a Commander-in-Chief, and Barack more like a guy who needs a several more years of seasoning in the Senate.

Throughout the campaign, McCain said what he believed and let Americans judge him on that basis. Barack answered Rrev. Warren's questions like a man trying to keep a low target profile.

That really showed in how the two men responded to Rev. Warren's abortion question:

Now, let's deal with abortion. 40 million abortions since Roe V. Wade. As you know, as a pastor I have to deal with this all of the time. All of the pain annd all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. 40 million abortions. At what point does a baby get human rights?

A critical question that burrows to the very heart of the abortion debate, because answering compels one to take a clear stance.

Which explains why Obama just punted it:

Well, 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.

Obama followed up with a lot of sophistry annd Clinton-derivative blather, bit the bottom line is he simply refused to answer the question, executed an Olympic-class dodge in front of millions of voters who take a dim view of waffling on this issue.

McCain, on the other hand, was unhesitating and unequivocal in his answer to the same question:

At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States, I will be a pro-life President, and this Presidency will have pro life policies.

Bang. Straightforward, no double-talk. in my experience, that's the best way too approach the abortion issue. Take a stance one way or another. Voters tend to take the kind of wishy--washiness demonstrated by Obama as indicative of indecision annd weak leadership in general.