Those questions are vital in an election season, but Warren's genius is to understand that more goes into presidential picking than position papers. In fact, he told each candidate that he didn't want to hear their standard stump speech on a given question.
Warren got them to be reflective, at times. If some questions were softballs, asking them to identify their greatest moral failures and America's greatest moral failure were not.
McCain said without elaboration that it was his first marriage (follow-up question, Pastor Warren!), and Obama said it was his teenage experimentation with drugs and alcohol that stemmed from his self-pity. That is good stuff.
Obama showed the "He's a closet Muslim" crowd that if he is, he sure knows his Christian catechism, too. He invoked the Book of Matthew and seemingly easy familiarity with expressions like "walking humbly with our God." Those kinds of answers, mixed in naturally during the hour, got much more to his core than if someone were to ask, "People have said you're a closet Muslim. Are you?"
McCain struck me as more austere during his hour but also showed his Main Street brand of humor when he was asked to name the three wisest people he knows. He gave a thoughtful reply and before the next question, quipped: "I hope they get easier."
But it came back to Warren. He created a mood in which both candidates opened up. In this context, nothing wrong with him high-fiving Obama after the senator deadpanned a reference to Warren's profits from his book sales.
Sure, the conversations could have been more enlightening, but this was far from an idle exercise. Warren showed it is possible to get candidates to move beyond sound bites and to reveal a bit of themselves. The best interviewers get people to say things we don't normally hear from them.
"These are the kinds of forums we need," Obama said at the end, "where we have a conversation." He went on to say, "I want people to know me well, and I'm sure John McCain feels the same way."
Rick Warren helped that cause. When you think how dull the evening could have been, you realize what a good job he did.
And although this was probably just a one-night stand, I found myself wanting a couple more hours with Obama, McCain and Warren.
On a Saturday night, they made for delightful company.
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Dana Parsons' column appears Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821 or at dana.parsons@latimes.com. An archive of his recent columns is at www.latimes.com/parsons.
