The Cone of Silence

When I heard Pastor Rick Warren say that McCain was backstage somewhere in a cone of silence, I figured he was joking about the "cone," and that what he was really saying was that he was in a room removed from the proceedings, not able to hear what was going on.

Now we find out that he wasn't backstage at all and not even in the building, much less in an actual cone of silence. He was at his hotel and/or on his way to the church. In this technological age, no one can tell me that McCain couldn't have had access to the forum. Computer. TV. Whatever.

Let's assume that he would cheat if given the opportunity. It's been the Republican way for most of the time we can remember. The fact that he was a POW, despite his campaign's lame retort, has nothing to do with whether he would cheat. Ask his first wife. Ask his second wife, since she was there! He would cheat.

So, given the opportunity in this case, as he was, the assumption is he went in with some idea of the questions and Obama's responses.

That would explain one big moment, when they were talking about teachers and education, and McCain spouted off his answers before the questions were even asked, something like, "Yes, yes, yes, no, maybe." He may be fast on his feet, but he'd have to be a mindreader to do that! Unless...

The biggest disappointment for me is not that McCain cheated, but that Rick Warren appeared to have gone right along with it. Why tell us he's backstage if he isn't? Very disappointing.