I suspect CNN’s Saturday-night Saddleback megachurch event with Rick Warren was a turning point in shaking the confidence of one liberal-media assumption: that Obama is much more comfortable talking faith than McCain is. It also gave Obama critics that juicy “above my pay grade” dodge to the question of when babies acquire human rights. But let’s note that CNN tried to honor Obama’s response on Sunday night:

RICK SANCHEZ: Let me start you this way. Were you surprised because I was just listening to Barack Obama there? Were you surprised that he didn’t respond the way Democrats have almost consistently responded in the past, if they happen to have or share his position. They say something like, look, personally I’m against abortion, but I’m not against a law that allows it. You asked him specifically when does a baby get human rights. He said, it is above my pay grade, at some point. Were you taken aback by his nuanced response?

Sadly, the question was addressed to Warren, who completely finessed it like a politician. He wasn’t about to relinquish his new title as the media’s top evangelical, carefully won by eschewing the religious right. He would agree:

RICK WARREN: No. Actually, Rick, I think what we saw last night was two personalities exactly playing according to form. I see Barack Obama as kind of the thoughtful consensus builder. I see John McCain as the happy, straight forward warrior. And they both answered exactly according to casting. Just the way they work.
One of them tends to get right to the point. Barack is more nuanced. He’s more — he thinks things through. You know, he’s a constitutional attorney. And so it didn’t surprise me at all. In fact, it was a good balance to show the difference.

Please note for the record that the TV networks — at least ABC, CBS, and NBC — completely ignored Rick Warren throughout the phenomenal best-selling success of “The Purpose-Driven Life,” for months and months. They came around when he started rejecting the alleged apathy and meanness of evangelicals.