LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- The scene at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, on Saturday evening (August 16) was like that of a movie set as U.S. Presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, both tried to woo the votes of American Christians.

There were helicopters whirring over the mega-church, secret service men talking into their sleeves, and sniffer dogs in abundance, while hundreds of protesters from many causes, lined the entrance to the church, as Pastor Rick Warren quizzed the candidates with almost the same set of questions, many of which were quite pointed.

Warren began by referring to both Obama and McCain as "friends" in his introductions. “They both care deeply about America,” Warren said. “They're both patriots.”

Before the Civil Forum began, Warren held a coin toss between the two of them and Obama and, as a result, Obama went first and he was asked what he felt was the “greatest moral failing” in his life.

“I had a difficult youth,” Obama said. “There were times when I experimented with drugs.”

When asked to say what he felt was one of the country's biggest moral failings, he replied, “Our treatment of the poor.” He stated that the Bible quotes Jesus as saying “whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” He said the adage should apply to victims of poverty, sexism and racism.

When asked about his personal faith, Obama said he is “redeemed by Jesus,” who died for “my sins.”

Abortion was a topic that Warren then asked Obama about and the Illinois senator said that he supported a woman's right to have an abortion but wanted to work to reduce the number of such procedures. Obama said he would limit abortions in the late stages of pregnancy if there were exceptions for the mother's health.

He stated that he knew that people who consider themselves pro-life would find his stance “inadequate.”

After about an hour, John McCain, who had been in a room where he was not able to hear any of Obama’s answers, came on stage and was also asked about his own moral failure?

“My greatest moral failing, and I am a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage,” he said as his second wife, Cindy, sat in the front row.

On the topic of America's moral failings, McCain said: “Perhaps we have not devoted ourselves to causes greater than our self-interest, although we've been the best at it.”

The contrast between the two men, who both claimed to be Christians, was stark. Obama, who could become the first black president, has had to repeatedly debunk rumors that he is Muslim and was forced to distance himself from his controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

When it came to McCain’s turn to describe his religious beliefs –- he attends Baptist church in Phoenix -- this former prisoner of war in North Vietnam, recalled a story about a prison guard who scratched a cross in the dirt on Christmas Day during his imprisonment.

“For a minute there, it was just two Christians worshiping together. I'll never forget that,” he said quietly.

On abortion, McCain said he was anti-abortion and said that human rights for a child, begins the instant a human egg is fertilized. McCain, who adopted a daughter from Bangladesh, also called for making adoption easier,

Despite much criticism of Rick Warren’s decision to hold this Civil Forum, he generally did an excellent job of being fair handed in his questioning and many were surprised how tough some of the questions were.

Afterwards, I asked Sam Brownback, US Senator for Kansas and himself a former presidential candidate, if he thought that Warren should give up his present job and become a TV inquisitor. He laughed and said, “Well, I think he would be a good replacement for Tim Russert on Meet the Press.”

However, this view wasn’t welcomed by a Saddleback member who said, “Pastor Rick did a great job tonight, but we want him to stay as our pastor here at the church.”

Whether many minds were changed by this event, I am not sure, but it was extraordinary to be able to witness, in a Southern Baptist church, two such men, one of whom will be come the “leader of the free world”, give their answers in such a frank and articulate way. I hope this isn’t the last event of this kind in an American church.

Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 45 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.