Rick Warren's politics

From Naomi Schaefer Riley in the WSJ...

"Overhyped." That's how the Rev. Rick Warren describes the notion that the evangelical vote is "up for grabs" in this election. But what about the significance of the evangelical left, I asked the pastor of Saddleback Church after his forum with the presidential candidates last weekend. "This big," he says, holding his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.

Sitting on a small stone patio outside the church's "green room," I question him further -- has he heard that the Democratic Party is changing its abortion platform? "Window dressing," he replies. "Too little, too late." But Rev. Jim Wallis, the self-described progressive evangelical, has been saying that the change is a big victory. "Jim Wallis is a spokesman for the Democratic Party," Mr. Warren responds dismissively. "His book reads like the party platform."

If you've read any of the hundreds of articles about Mr. Warren that have appeared over the past 10 years, perhaps you think I've got the wrong guy. After all, the leader of the fourth-largest church in the U.S. is supposed to be part of a "new breed" of evangelicals, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and dozens of other publications. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof paid him what Mr. Kristof might consider the ultimate compliment earlier this year, referring to Mr. Warren as an "evangelical liberals can love."

It is true that Mr. Warren, whose book "The Purpose Driven Life" has sold 25 million copies, argues that his community needs to "broaden its agenda" to include issues like environmental conservation and fighting poverty and disease. "I don't just care that the little girl is born," he tells me. "Is she going to be born in poverty? Is she going to be born with AIDS because her mom has AIDS? Is she going to never get an education?" And he adds that there are plenty of evangelicals who are tired of the "combativeness" associated with the religious right.

But there is a misunderstanding by the media, says Mr. Warren. "A lot of people hear [about a broader agenda] and they think, 'Oh, evangelicals are giving up on believing that life begins at conception,'" he explains. "They're not giving up on that at all. Not at all."...

Right on...This is a key theme in my book: abortion is key but there are still other important issues. Interestingly, Jim Wallis and his followers are correct to broaden the agenda, but their solutions are often unethical/unbiblical and impractical.

And no one should expect Mr. Warren to drop the issue [of African kids whose parents have died from AIDS], as he has clearly done his research. A lot of people think that you can just put these kids in orphanages, he tells me, but they "don't realize that when you put a kid in an orphanage in many countries . . . they lose the land rights to their parents' property. So, you are ensuring that the kid will be poor the rest of his life because he loses the only inheritance he's had." From there, Mr. Warren is off on a riff about the importance of property rights.

The pastor's performance on Saturday night has been praised by pundits on the left and the right. His questions -- he calls them "heartland questions" -- were straightforward, culled from thousands he received from people on his mailing list. And he seemed friendly to both men without being too chummy.

Unlike some other prominent religious leaders, Mr. Warren won't be endorsing anyone this fall.

An interesting point about African property rights.

And a good decision-- both because there are no Biblically-endorse-able major-party candidates and even moreso, because this isn't the role of a pastor.