McCain Cheated at the Saddleback and here's the proof.

I actually did not think that the Saddleback Civil Forum was going to be that compelling but wanted to hear how Obama managed because I care about his faith and how he expresses it. So I Tivoed it and watched it Sunday evening. Now I have it recorded and I can go back to it when I need to because it was the most revealing picture of McCain’s character I’ve seen yet. When I watched it casually, I had the strong sense that something was “off.” Well, it certainly was. I’m a college professor and I know cheating when I see it and McCain out-and-out cheated. It doesn’t even matter how he did it but he had the questions beforehand.

First let me say, Obama and McCain did not get the same test. Warren introduced the Forum by saying that the candidates would get the same questions. They did not get the same questions. They were asked in very different ways and with different introductions by Warren. So Warren is implicated here and he needs to pray for forgiveness for his part in all of this.

Second, Warren did not call McCain out when he jumped on the questions almost before Warren finished asking (see McCain about 1:50 in the video on education for example, “Yes, yes, and yes”), and indeed answered two of them well before they were asked (see below). Warren warned Obama not to use his stump speech but let McCain gleefully launch into his “drill now” thing. The guy was showing off that he knew the questions and he manipulated the audience (shame on them for falling for it) with his Christianism-speak.

I was dumbfounded at what Warren let McCain get away with while he held Obama’s feet to the fire. We all know now that there was no “cone of silence” but Warren implied that McCain was in a room waiting with no access to what was being asked. McCain reinforced the impression that he was in a secure room by joking that he “trying to hear through the wall.”

McCain does not answer the question Warren asks about a position he held 10 years ago and changed his mind about, McCain launches into his stump speech on drilling and security and basically answers one of the questions that hadn’t been asked yet and Warren says,

WARREN: Well, you just took the — I had that question later on but now we don’t have to ask it.

Later, many minutes before Warren asks about the Supreme Court Justices the following exchange takes place.

WARREN: OK, we don’t have to beleaguer on that one. Define marriage.
MCCAIN: A union — a union between man and woman, between one man and one woman. That’s my definition of marriage.
Could I — are we going to get back to the importance of Supreme Court Justices or should I mention –
WARREN: We will get to that.
MCCAIN:
WARREN: You’re jumping ahead (inaudible).

Obama was respectful of the audience and of the setting and gave thoughtful, authentic answers. But McCain is in the end zone doing his victory dance on this one. Are we going to let him get away with this?