( A short video about Saddleback's work in Africa.)

I attended the Saddleback Civil Forum and as I said afterwards I plan to share my thoughts as they come to me.

I have read some of a Purpose Driven Life as a staff development reading group when I taught at a Catholic High School in Los Angeles County. Have you read his book?I have followed Rick Warren's recent political rise including his invitation to have Barack Obama speak at Saddleback Church before.

I know he is a leader of a Baptist Church and theologically conservative. He isn't ashamed of his version of Christianity and doesn't back away from tough questions. This is a clear example:

For those who believe that Sinclair Lewis' Elmer Gantry--and its portrayal of evangelical preachers as hypocritical frauds--offers the last word on conservative Christianity, Rick Warren cannot possibly be a force for good. I have yet to let Jesus enter my life, but I admire Warren. We once appeared on a panel together along with Harvard's Peter Gomes at the Aspen Ideas Festival. When it came time for questions, a woman stood up, proclaimed her Judaism, and asked Warren if she was going to burn in hell. He paused before responding--and then answered her question the only way it could be answered. Yes, he said to audible gasps. My reaction was that either you believe that Jesus is the savior or you do not, and I found myself impressed that Warren remained true to his convictions, knowing full well that the audience would not like what he said.

But in addition to that he has been expanding, without altering, conservative Christianity's focus on moral issues. He has talked about abortion and limiting gay rights like you would expect a Baptist pastor to do. But he has also been talking about poverty, the value of work, HIV/AIDS, and global warming. Saddleback Church and Pastor Warren are also helping to rebuild Rwanda. He does have his critics on the right afraid he is diluting the message of conservative Christianity, but I don't agree.

All of that doesn't sound anything close to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson type of conservative Christianity.

I was excited to go even though I was actually in the press tent and not the main building. I got to chat with some reporters from strange outlets including a motor magazine ( Suzuki?) and a nursing magazine. They give out press credentials to anyone it seems. Including people like me.

I also chatted with two men from Der Spiegel about the recent debate concerning their magazine's interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who agreed with Barack Obama's proposal for a timetable for us to leave Iraq. The Bush Administration at first said it was mistranslated but Der Spiegel stuck with their story and insisted they translated it correctly.

Did I mention I like Der Spiegel? I even like saying it.

I tried to terrorist fist jab a Fox News reporter but he blew me off when I asked to take a picture.

I will deal with the candidates' answers to questions next time but for now i want to talk about the questions Pastor Warren chose to ask. I was expecting questions about global poverty, global warming, HIV/AIDS, and about faith. Instead many of the questions didn't surprise those that wondered why Barack Obama would agree to a forum in a conservative church.

Pastor Warren himself said afterwards:

He told the 550 journalists covering the event, "You have my sympathies! Even still, we ran out of time. Most of the questions that I personally wanted to ask (about AIDS, poverty, environment, and climate change, the constitution, containment of nuclear material, corruption, etc) were in the last section on International issues and I had to scuttle them so they could answer 'Why do you want to be president?'"

A great political question that he asked was what justices would the candidate NOT appoint to the SCOTUS is they could. That was better then allowing the candidates to name drop the most popular justices from their political ideologies.

Overall, I expected Pastor Warren to live up to the hype of a different type of Christian conservative but his questions focused so much on what critics on the left would expect I think he didn't pull it off in that regard.

I was disappointed that he let McCain say he thought human rights begin at conception without asking a follow up about why McCain supports stem cell research if he thinks those stem cells have human rights.

I guess he skipped asking follow up questions so he could ask more.

I was also disappointed that McCain wasn't actually backstage in a "Cone of Silence" but instead was traveling to the site. It left the church open to people asking if it really was fair to ask the same questions of both candidates when one candidate could have ( not that there is really any proof) been briefed on some of the questions before he walked out on stage.

I will leave off with this quote from Matthew that Barack Obama brought up in an answer as a prelude for next time:

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

It is a favorite of Christians and I wasn't surprised that it was the verse Barack Obama would highlight to explain his faith.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. If you see a comment that should be removed please email me.

( Joe Biden on stage with Barack Obama Saturday.)

Were you surprised by Barack Obama picking Joe Biden? I was surprised. It was funny though that the text messages started going out at 3AM.

I think he is a safe choice because of his background and because of his foreign policy experience. He reinforces Barack Obama's messages in some ways but not in others.

Obviously, selecting someone that has served as long as Joe Biden has doesn't easily reinforce the message of change. But let's be honest. Republican concern trolls would be shouting about inexperience if he selected someone with less political experience.

It is clear that they have not always agreed. Again the attack parrots and concern trolls will be pointing this out, too. But disagreement between candidates isn't something new. If he picked Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton, or Bill Richardson they would be parroting pretty much the exact same things.

I think Joe Biden is a man of decency and a solid pick.

He has a humble life story and can connect with middle class voters. He has strong family values and is forceful in debates. I watched many of the primary debates during the primary and Joe Biden is very impressive on stage. His knowledge about foreign policy and issues goes back decades and reassures me that foreign policy will be closer to matching my values under a Barack Obama administration.

A major theme of Barack Obama's campaign has been change. Those changes include moving past the types of politics created by people like Bush, Cheney, and Rove. The policies that Barack Obama supports are a big change from the policies that Bush and McCain have supported.

As far as winning the election goes he could help with some demographics. He is from Scranton Pennsylvania and he is Catholic. The comments towards the end of this story about his faith explain why. As a senator he isn't poor but I have seen his net worth reported to be about $300,000. That makes him much closer to the average American than most senators. He also is more commonly known than I first thought because of his long career.

I don't mind he doesn't agree with Barack Obama on everything. It shows Barack Obama is willing to reach out to former adversaries to solve problems.

Do you remember George W. Bush's team after 2000 wouldn't even hire people that supported McCain? That is the type of leadership that has made his presidency into a huge failure.

Like every politician he has his flaws. He has said some really funny comments that I am sure Republicans will continue to point out. But before you jump on those comments you might want to remember John McCain has told some awful jokes and has quotes that either were taken out of context or were in very poor taste.

The head of the Associated Press, who interviewed for a job with John McCain's campaign, that picking Joe Biden shows some weaknesses and I agree to an extent. But it also shows he is trying to get people on his team not just to win the election but to govern our country.

Most VP picks don't change people's vote. But did this pick change your vote? Are you more or less willing to support the ticket because of it?

I attended the forum at Saddleback Church Saturday night. I am thinking through my reactions and I will write about it in the coming days. For instant talking points and analysis you have plenty of resources. I want to write about the event after some of the dust has cleared.

I am disappointed that John McCain was not in "The Cone of Silence" as Pastor Rick Warren said he was when he started the night. Both candidates were asked the same questions so having staff be able to prepare someone for a few more minutes for the upcoming questions could be helpful.

I have a transcript and I assume many of you watched the forum. If you did or did watch the forum leave me a comment with your thoughts.

I was wondering what passages from scripture either of the candidates would bring up in their answers. The only direct reference I caught was from Barack Obama when he mentioned America's greatest failings and brought up passages from the Book of Matthew. Here is a basic quote from Matthew:

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

The rest of my thoughts I will write about soon. But many people are putting out their guesses for VP so I figured it would be a fun discussion here.

What are your top three predictions for each candidate?

Do you think the story will leak early before the text messages go out? If Barack Obama can control his campaign from leaking this information early it will be a great sign of his control over his staff and supporters.

Here are my picks in no particular order:

Barack Obama
1. Hillary Clinton
2. Evan Bayh
3. Tim Kaine

I will make my John McCain picks later.

Did you sign up for the text message? Text JOIN to 62262 if you want to receive Barack Obama news by text.

State Assembly candidate Carole Lutness ( D ) has a campaign update that she sent out tonight. See it by clicking on continue reading.

Her campaign against Cameron Smyth ( R- Santa Clarita ) might depend on the polling numbers for Barack Obama in the 38th Assembly District. In her update she said Democratic Party leaders will be looking at those numbers to see if a wave is forming for Barack Obama that could bring other people into office. What do you think? Campaign talk or could Barack Obama perform rather well in this area?

( Map of the 38th Assembly District. Don't click on it.)

Which candidate in this area has the best chance of pulling an upset? Marta Jorgenson, Ferial Masry, or Carole Lutness? Or do you think another candidate could be putting together a campaign that will surprise us?

( Have you seen Wedding Crashers? See if you can spot political celebrity John McCain in this clip. Extra points if you catch the other political celebrity in the clip.)

Local Republicans are putting together an event to support John McCain. Click on continue reading for details. Have you seen any other local John McCain groups or events? There is a high priced fund raiser in Los Angeles at the end of the month.

Will John McCain supporters that attend this event be working for all Republican candidates or are they able to work primarily for John McCain?

Where is the closet location to Simi Valley to pick up a John McCain sign?

I am done trying to come up with a better title. If you have a better title leave a suggestion as a comment and I will fix it.

The Barack Obama card board stand up in front of the Democrats' booth at the Ventura County Fair was ripped up by a man yelling profanities including a racial slur. Click on continue reading for details.

In 2004, the George W. Bush stand up at the Republican Party's Headquarters was stolen by someone that ran out with it. I don't recall fi they ever got it back but if I remember correctly the thief took it back to the San Fernando Valley where the police didn't do much for such a petty offense.

Read through the comments on Dailykos about this story. An keep your cardboard stand ups safe!

Sandy, do you have signs and bumper stickers for Barack Obama at the booth?

I called Rep. Gallegly's office to find out when his next public event was but they don't have a schedule. They did say he was attending the fair sometimes but didn't say when. If you go to the fair you might get lucky enough to ask a question.

Are there any other candidates at the fair?

I have lost respect for John McCain and the type of campaign he runs in the last few weeks. Consider the following actions of his and his campaign:

1. He attacks Barack Obama using this notorious video:

This from the man that actually has more in common with Britney Spears and takes money from the Hilton family:

Did you know McCain was also in the movie Wedding Crashers?

Check out Hollywood McCain's other celebrity sounding facts!

You should be upset with McCain if for no other reason giving more press attention to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Thanks to his campaign for another trashy commercial.

2. He attacked Barack Obama for not visiting the troops by using video of Barack Obama visiting the troops!

John McCain used wounded troops as a political attack. He said Barack Obama didn't want to visit wounded troops because the military said he couldn't bring cameras. When John McCain's campaign was contradicted by the facts from reporters traveling with Barack Obama they didn't back off and continued their disgusting attack.

Then it turns out John McCain's campaign was going to attack Barack Obama for visiting the troops if he did go.

Seems in John McCain's campaigns view that using wounded troops for a partisan attack is fair game.

3. Both campaigns have said they don't question the other candidate's patriotism. John McCain has said many times he would rather lose a campaign then lose a war. But he goes into full attack mode when he says about Barack Obama:

" Would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign..."

He is accusing Barack Obama of wanting America to lose a war. But at the same time he is lying when he says he isn't attacking his patriotism. How can a person be a patriot while wanting American troops to be killed?

The John McCain campaign team started off the campaign with a popular, independent minded war hero and diminished him by using sleazy Karl Rove tactics.

No wonder they say he is running for Bush's third term!

( John McCain and President Bush celebrating McCain's birthday while Hurricane Katrina was going on.)

I am done with his campaign. They would rather destroy McCain's character then lose a campaign. How did his staffers take a great war hero and take him down so fast?

They must be really desperate if they are flailing like this so early. I think McCain could win, but at what cost?

I guess we shouldn't be surprised that a campaign that has a "Swift Boat" extremist , Karl Rove, and a bunch of lobbyists working for them would go negative.

He needs hid old team back.

( A local Barack Obama supporter with local Barack Obama organizer Sandy Emberland. He said he bought the shirt at Urban Outfitters I think.)

I attended an organizational meeting of Barack Obama supporters tonight at the UFCW Union Hall in Camarillo. By my count there was about one hundred supporters there from across the 24th congressional district and beyond.

The focus of the meeting was to train volunteers to register voters and to organize voter registration events. If you are interested in getting involved you can leave your name and email address here as a comment or you can go to the campaign's website and search for local events to help with.

The Ventura County Fair is coming up and the Barack Obama supporters have many plans to make it exciting for this year. They are looking for a few more volunteers to work in the booth if you are interested.

The amount and intensity of volunteers this long before the election is inspiring. The only local John McCain news I have to share is that there is a high priced fundraiser in Los Angeles in late August. If you see anything from local John McCain supporters let me know.

I have heard that Republicans are out there registering voters. Has anyone seen this recently? If you do send in photos to post.

Thanks to the great volunteers who organized this event. I am looking forward to reports from the fair.

Sandy, will you email me some photos of the registration events your group is running?

Local Barack Obama supporters are putting together a great organization. I was surprised I didn't see more Democratic leaders at the event but I the UFCW hall was full of supporters. There will be Barack Obama signs, stickers, and magnetic bumper stickers at this meeting. Here is a video from the last meeting:

Here is the meeting information from the local Barack Obama campaign volunteers:

Obama Monthly Meetup for the 24th Congressional District - Wednesday, July 23, 7 - 9 PM, UFCW Orchid Room in Camarillo

On June 17 we had a terrific meeting in Camarillo with about 190 supporters attending. We covered the basics on what to expect moving forward; hosting events; developing city groups; phonebanking; canvassing and traveling to other states.

On July 23 we have scheduled the second monthly meetup. This event will be co-hosted by Deborah Dent, CD 24 Obama for America Coordinator and Roni Flowers, Obama for America Volunteer. This will be an opportunity for Obama supporters and city group members to meet together, welcome new volunteers, participate in a brief Q & A and receive information on the campaign's general election plans for California . Also, Roni Flowers will conduct a workshop on voter registration.

Please RSVP for this event at

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gysq

If you are a Democrat running for local office you should be there. I will bring a camera to get photos of the candidates that make it.

( Maybe this video explains some of the reasons for the differences between the candidates. Not much reinforces the perception of being old like not knowing how to use a computer!)

If you google the following names check out the number of results you get:

Barack Obama:
56,600,000

George Bush :
45,100,000

John McCain:
38,700,000

Now onto their Myspace pages:

Barack Obama:
421,953 friends

John McCain:
58,674 friends

What do you think explains the google results?

This election seems to be about Barack Obama and not John McCain. Because of the extended primary, his becoming the first African-American nominee of a major party, and his connection to young voters it is obvious he is well positioned to draw excitement to his campaign.

But how did he top George W. Bush ( or for that matter both George Bush's combined) who has been president or a candidate for president for almost 8 years? Is there really more being written about Barack Obama in the last couple of years then it was about Bush in total?

The 1992 election was about George Bush Sr. and the economy. In the 1996 election Bill Clinton was the topic of discussion, not Bob Dole. The 2000 election was in part a referendum on Bill Clinton. In 2004 the campaign was about George W. Bush but then shifted to being about John Kerry.

This election, for both sides, has become about Barack Obama. When I listen to KFI or watch television it seems that Barack Obama is more often being talked about. Even John McCain is resorting to trying to get some attention from Barack Obama instead of generating his own. He advertisements are all over the internet in odd places like next to Obama Girl or on website promoting racially charged lies about Barack Obama. If you google Barack Obama you even get paid ads by John McCain.

With John McCain's inability to attract excitement on his own it isn't surprising he wanted to be with Barack Obama at town hall meetings!

The Myspace results are easier to explain. Among young people Barack Obama is way ahead.

What do you think about how the candidates are using the internet?

The last few weeks political blogs have been dominated by the talk about FISA , Barack Obama's supporters being upset by his position on FISA/ Telecom Immunity, and the differences between the senate and house versions.

The Barack Obama campaign has a feature where you can sign up, volunteer, carry out tasks, and earn points. If you read Timm Herdt's recent article you will see that it is really innovative. Recently, supporters of Barack Obama's campaign have been using these tools to lobby the senator to support retroactive immunity in the senate version of the bill.

If you click on continue reading there is an email from Mary Pallant ( a Democrat that ran for the nomination of her party this year) discussing her views on the bill that was passed today which included retroactive immunity.

I was talking the other night to a local political operative who told me they were a policy wonk. They impressed me with their wonky talk. But this issue seems to be the wonkiest of all the issues going on.

So, do you care? Have you been following the arguments?

Leave a comment explaining the issue more of what you feel about it. You don't have to use your real name and you don't need to register to leave comments. I don't have any warrants asking for IP addresses, so your identity is safe. I don't share IP addresses with other Star blogs.

Thanks for reading and thanks for leaving comments.

Have you seen or heard about the Obama Girl video hosted on youtube? It has been around since June 13, 2007. Funny enough there wasn't many pundits predicting he would have a serious chance at the nomination back then.

Click here to play the version with subtitled lyrics.

Anyways, I know John McCain's ads are placed using key words but it is funny where his ads keep popping up. He really is going negative early in this election. An attack ad placed on a comedy video? Seems like they don't have a sense of humor. It would be like running a negative ad when the other candidate is on SNL or The Daily Show.

Here is another John McCain ad:

Again, I know his campaign is using key words to place ads. But that being said they should be embarrassed to be running an attack ad on a sleazy website devoted to spreading lies. Barack Obama is a committed Christian. Only the most politically ignorant think he is a Muslim. It has been debunked in so many ways already.

McCain understands what it is like to be smeared by political opponents. I have seen all sorts of trash about him including that he betrayed other POW's when he returned home and of course the dirty attacks from Bush supporters in 2000 before the South Carolina primary.

It is time John McCain's campaign gets an intern to check where their web ads are being placed.

If you see any funny online advertising send me a link.