Mark Halperin of Time (no Obama fan) gives them both an A-

[jezebel]

http://thepage.time.com/2008/08/16/obama-mccain-both-ace-saddleback/

Authority:
Obama: B+
McCain: A-

Clarity:
Obama: A-
McCain: B+

Credibility:
Obama: A-
McCain: B+

Audience reaction:
Obama: B+
McCain: A-

Overall:
Obama: A-
McCain: A-

Obama

Tanned, rested, and ready for Rick Warren’s questions after his week in Hawaii. Comfortable talking about faith and quoting the bible in the precise spirit of the event. Maybe a bit too flip and colloquial at times (he said “screw up” twice), but fluid, good natured, and unflappable at almost every moment. He effectively stalled with verbal filler before answering some of the tougher questions. Handled abortion, gay rights, the Supreme Court, teacher pay, taxes, welfare reform, and stem cell research without sounding too liberal or changing any of his positions. Dipped into the personal when talking about the moral failure of his drug use as a youth. Did not appear the least bit intimidated by the crowd or the probing, and likely gained some confidence that he can use going into the debates next month.

McCain

Made a more emphatic electoral appeal than Obama did, offering himself up as a leader who understands the economic challenges facing American families and using many of his longer answers to talk about current issues such as energy and Russia. Not as optimistic as Obama, but cracked his share of jokes, which the audience ate up, even the ancient ones. At other times, visibly moved the crowd telling two stories from his Vietnamese POW days: his refusal to be set free by his captors ahead of others who were taken prisoner before him (since it would have violated the U.S. code of conduct), and the time one of his jailers drew a cross in the dirt to share a Christmas moment. Was unusually passionate and articulate when talking about education choice and competition, as well as Islamic terrorists, Russia, and Georgia. Gave a more fluid answer than Obama did to the classic “why do you want to be president?” question.

[Bicoastal]

1. Well, I guess that's good, 'cause it seems to be how the pundits are spinning it, BUT--

--had it been a regular audience, and not largely members of an Evangelical church?

Obama woulda smoked him.

[Colobo]

2. Obama > McCain. Always.