it's gonna be a hard campaign...

for me to watch, that is. I've been watching the Obama-McCain "debate" at Rick Warren's church in southern california. Obama acquitted himself pretty well, I think. His answers were carefully considered and eloquently put. He got a polite if not enthusiastic reception.
McCain seemed a little stiff at first, but soon warmed up. It's helpful when the audience is all Republicans! Obama had to show that he held the same basic values as the audience, even while admitting that his views on particular issues differed. For instance, when asked about abortion he emphasized reducing the number of abortions (presumably not be making the procedure illegal).
All McCain needed to do was say a few buzzwords and the audience erupted. Abortion bad. I love Alito. Freedom! Did I mention I was in a POW camp?
Interestingly, the response was only lukewarm when McCain detoured for a good 4 or 5 minutes to castigate the Russians and praise the people of Georgia ("they are good, simple people there").
I wish that the two candidates would have a forum in front of a pro-Obama audience.
But mainly, I wish McCain would stop saying "My friends..."