Pastor Rick Warren asked, "There is a verse in Proverbs that says, 'Fools think they need no advice, but wise listen to other people'. Who are the three wisest people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?"
Barack Obama's response: 1) his wife Michelle; 2) his maternal grandmother; 3) former Sen. Nunn (D-GA); Sen. Lugar (R-IN); Sen. Kennedy (D-MA); Sen. Coburn (R-OK).
John McCain's response: 1) Gen. Petraeus; 2) civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-GA); 3) former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.
Analysis
Here is my take of the question: In the Presidency, you can become insulated from what's going on in America; who do you trust to tell you the unvarnished truth that you may not want to hear? Maybe it's a political mentor; a lifelong friend; an influential college professor... Second, it allows you to signal what you see as a particularly critical issue facing your Presidency, say, for example, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, the Dalai Lama, a prominent environmentalist (e.g., Al Gore), etc. Third, it lets you address any self-acknowledged limited background. For example, if I had a limited military or foreign policy background, I might identify a retired general or former Secretary of State. Fourth, it might indicate the basic orientation of the administration. For example, if I wanted to emphasize my conservative roots and a revised Republican agenda for the 21st century, I might identify Newt Gingrich. On the other hand, if I wished to signal more of a bipartisan approach, I might list an opposition-party legislative leader.
Barack Obama's choices were unsatisfactory. First of all, he didn't want to stay within the parameters of Pastor Warren's question--three people. He's listed two relatives and then decides he wants to list 4 senators; to me, it's arrogant and outrageous--Rev. Warren's question is specifically worded to get the candidates to list their high-priority contacts, not a laundry list of contacts. Barack's choice of relatives seems rather gratuitous and frivolous; it's not clear what their input brings to the table in terms of national policy. As for the senators, Senator Coburn is perhaps the most conservative member of the Senate, with whose policies Barack openly admits he typically disagrees. My inference of his name-dropping, though, has more to do about using Coburn as a bipartisan legislative reference than building a bridge to the minority party through Coburn.
Whom would I have mentioned in Barack Obama's place? Ted Kennedy; Hillary Clinton; John McCain. I would have said Clinton and McCain to point out each has earned millions of votes and Obama, in his post-partisan politics, will want to unify the country after a hard-fought campaign. I would list Ted Kennedy because of his long service in the Senate and his prominent role in bipartisan efforts in education and immigration. Sorry, Barack--no do-overs. [Actually, if the Trinity Church tapes hadn't caused a huge political problem, I would have fully expected him to list Jeremiah Wright. ]
John McCain's listing of General Petraeus underscores his general theme of confronting and containing radical Islamic extremism. Are there lessons from Iraq which we can apply in terms of western Pakistan? The selection of Meg Whitman underscores his concern with job creation in a tough global economy. Most intriguing was the selection of John Lewis, an Obama supporter. McCain is making an explicit comparison of his own POW injuries with Lewis' suffered during the civil rights years, sacrifices that transcend partisanship, of putting one's country, one's cause beyond one's personal or partisan interest, and their shared optimism. Most notably, John McCain is reaching out to blacks even though he realizes, with a black American on the ballot, he probably won't get many of their votes. My personal take is that McCain is sending a signal here that he will be President to all Americans, not just those whom vote for him, and that he is reaching out to people in a way the GOP hasn't done in recent years.
But I would suggest not just looking at the individual names, but the context. Barack Obama has made a campaign about "change", "turning the page", etc. Look at who he's mentioned--he made what I regard as fairly predictable choices from a political perspective. Nunn, Lugar, and Kennedy are long-term senators whom served (at minimum) from the 1970's through the 1990's.
On the other hand, McCain chose a black Democrat, a female business executive, and a general--a heterogeneous group of advisers, certainly not your grandfather's GOP.
