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McCain and Obama Will Attend Forum At Saddleback Church

Pastor Rick Warren

By 316Networks.com

Published: July 22, 2008

On August 16, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will make their first joint appearance as the presumptive presidential nominee for each of their political parties at Saddleback Church, located in Lake Forest, California.

Pastor Rick Warren

The two-hour event, billed as a leadership and compassion forum, will feature Saddleback Church's Pastor, Rick Warren, as he asks both candidates separately on state questions about faith and moral issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate change and human rights.

"We're honored that the candidates chose The Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion for their first joint appearance, an unprecedented opportunity for America to hear both men back-to-back on the same platform," says Warren, who leads the 22,000 member congregation.

"This is a critical time for our nation and the American people deserve to hear both candidates speak from the heart - without interruption - in a civil and thoughtful format absent the partisan ‘gotcha' questions that typically produce heat instead of light."

Both McCain and Obama have increased their outreach to evangelical voters, and participation in this forum should help contribute to this key voting bloc.

Both senators have requested that Warren be the only one to pose questions throughout the forum.

"While debates typically focus primarily on the candidates' positions and only secondarily on how they'd lead and make decisions, this Saddleback Civil Forum will reverse that ratio," Warren said.

"Since the oath of the President is a commitment to protect the Constitution, it's critical to know how each candidate interprets the nature of its principles. Leadership involves far more than promoting programs and making speeches, and since no one can predict what crises will happen over the next four years, it is vital to know the decision capacity and process of each man."

This forum will be the only joint campaign for both candidates prior to each party's national convention.

The author of the best-seller The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren said he has known both candidates before they ran for national office and called each personally to invite him to the event.

McCain and Obama have both endorsed Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Plan - a 50-year strategy to mobilize millions of local churches around the world to address the five global problems: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy.

In addition to the forum, Warren plans to host an interfaith meeting with about 30 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to discuss a number of joint projects that may benefit Americans as a whole.

Earlier this year, Faith in Public Life hosted a Compassion Forum featuring Obama and former Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton. They will co-sponsor the Saddleback Civil Forum event.

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