"I want people to know me well."
     Pro-abortion Senator Barack Obama, speaking Saturday at Rick Warren's "Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency."

Thanks to Rick Warren (author of "The Purpose Driven Life"), many people now not only know a great deal more about Senator Obama, soon to be officially nominated as the Democrats' presidential nominee, but also about pro-life Senator John McCain, who will officially become his party's standard bearer in a couple of weeks. It was an extremely revealing two hours. Kudos to CNN for carrying the discussion and to those other cable networks that broadcast it as well.

Over the years I've continued to remind myself not to gloat or to prematurely over-generalize. The former is to be unkind and ill-mannered, the latter is a recognition that politics can and often does change in a heartbeat.

Even honoring those caveats, it's still very difficult to draw any other conclusion: Sen. Obama had a disastrous night in Lake Forest, Calif., while Sen. McCain was as successful as Obama was ineffective. In my judgment this assessment applies across the board to virtually every issue Warren inquired about, but most certainly when it came to abortion.

But, if you think about it, this was almost inevitable.

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson observed in a column that appeared in today's Washington Post that "Obama is one of those rare political figures who seems to grow smaller the closer we approach him." I'm not sure it's all that rare, but it is certainly true in the case of Sen. Obama. Having floated on "hope" for this entire election season, the junior senator from Illinois faces the unenviable prospect of figuring out what to say once the bubble bursts.

I understand Obama's appeal. To borrow from a commercial, his "charisma can be seen from outer space." But only in the insular world of the "mainstream media" can a halting, sputtering speaking style become hallmarks of "authenticity" and "nuance" and "complexity."

All this and more was on display Saturday night. But on the response to Warren's question--"At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?"--Obama doused his hemming and hawing with what I assume was supposed to be taken as either irony, humility, or both.

"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."

His numerous defenders have tried every which way to deflect criticism, but the truth is absurdly simple. Obama's flippant answer was a real clunker. To borrow a sports metaphor, on the issue of the utmost moral gravity, Obama punted out of bounds.

By contrast, McCain's answer to the same question--"At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?"--was unabashed, direct, and straightforward: "At the moment of conception."

For emphasis, McCain immediately added, "I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United State, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies." To borrow again from football, that was a 100-yard touchdown run.

The remainder of Obama's response is very much worth considering. It combined three qualities.

First, out-and-out error. "Because the fact is that although we've had a president who is opposed to abortions the last eight years, abortions have not gone down." But, as all pro-lifers know, the number of abortions dropped a stunning 8% between 2000 and 2005.

Second, false profundity/modesty. "One thing that I'm absolutely convinced of is that there is a moral and ethical element to this issue," Obama told Warren. "And so I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue is not paying attention."

Okay, abortion is a difficult and grave issue, but therefore what? Therefore Obama follows the pro-abortion line down to every jot and tittle, including support for partial-birth abortions and a willingness to neglect infants who survive abortions.

Third, trying to water down the impact of his commitment to abortion on demand--"I am pro-choice. I believe in Roe versus Wade"--by telling the audience that he had inserted into the Democratic platform language about "How do we reduce the number of abortions?" In fact, when you examine the new language, support for abortion on demand is more ensconced than ever. [See part two for a full explanation.]

But I would be missing a key component of John McCain's pro-life position on abortion if I neglected to mention his understated but beautifully told story of how he and his wife, Cindy, adopted a daughter from Bangladesh. It was the concreteness of McCain's responses that was such a stark contrast to Obama's airy ambiguities.

Last thought: Obama did not challenge Warren when he talked about there being "40 million abortions." (The figure is actually closer to 50 million.) That's one of those hugely important facts that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned in the public discussion.

A great night not just for Sen. McCain, but more importantly for the cause of truth. No wonder Sen. Obama is evading one-on-one settings with Sen. McCain. If I had Obama's record, I would, too.

Part Two -- Democrats Strengthen Support for Abortion While Pretending to "Compromise"
Part Three -- Obama Cover-up on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Continues to Unravel After Sen. Obama Says NRLC is "Lying"