Rick Warren did it. And he did it well.
He helped many Christians get out of the muck of being toadies for the Republican party.
He demonstrated that Christians can be intelligent, compassionate, and diverse.
Best of all, Rick showed America the best of the faith.
The Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday night was brilliant in its conception and its execution.
Rick gave both candidates time and space to answer as they wished. He asked incisive and insightful questions. He did not wade in with his own views on any given issue.
In short, he was brilliant. Amazingly, even the Washington Post saw that.
And he raised questions that Christians should be interested in, whether they are or not. E.g., the fact that there are more than 150MM orphans in the world today. How does the Church partner with the government to do something about that?
All in all, it was a great night. Both candidates seemed comfortable. Rick plainly stated that he is "friends" with both Obama and McCain while not agreeing with everything either of them espouses.
He re-introduced civility into the American political conversation. Here's wishing the rest of the media would follow suit.