Senator McCain was somewhat surprising in the way he immediately came out of the box crackling with energy. His answers were very succinct and focused. One commentator noted that Obama sounded like a lawyer and McCain sounded like a fighter pilot.

McCain also engaged in a lot of spontaneous humor and banter with Pastor Warren, although his experience and command of specific proposals and circumstances gave the conversation more of a weighty or significant tone; less a chat between buddies, and more of a respectful interview with a statesman. McCain's answers were unequivocally and unapologetically conservative and clear, and he gave many persona illustrations to explain his thinking, as well as detailed global examples. He mentioned one specific issue where he had changed his mind, because facts and issues had become more clear to him: the need to drill now in America for more oil, and to explore every single option for eliminating our dependance on foreign oil - and the need for new alternatives to oil, including renewable energy and nuclear energy.

As Senator Obama had been asked about moral failure, so was McCain also asked. He stated immediately and simply that his own greatest moral failure was in his failure in his marriage to his first wife.

He praised General David Petraeus, and cited him as the kind of person he would turn to for advice in his own administration, along with Civil Rights icon John Lewis and entrepreneur and E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman. He praised faith-based organizations and called on government to avoid restricting these organizations in their ability to function successfully in problem-solving.

McCain's answers are sure to energize and excite the Conservative base of the Republican party in ways that he has heretofore been unable to accomplish. His energy level and sharp wit belied the accusations that he is an old, tired crank. His reflections on his service in Vietnam, particularly his decision to not accept early release as a P.O.W., and also a brief Christmas moment of worship together with one of his Vietnamese captors, who was also a Christian, were deeply moving and compelling.

My immediate response to the forum was that if baseball were employed as a metaphor, it could be said that Obama doubled, McCain homered, and Warren smacked a grand slam. The impressions of my fellow Newsviners would be greatly appreciated.