Politics | Election 2008 Candidates Score in Pastor Rick-a-thon Even in a non-debate, pundits still find a way to label somebody a winner By Katherine Thompson Posted Aug 17, 2008 12:43 PM CDT Copied Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks during a non-debate forum moderated by Pastor Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) Pastor Rick stressed that last night's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency wasn't a debate, but that won't stop the pundits from deciding who came out ahead: Byron York, of the National Review, sees the night as a big win for McCain, who's had a "much bigger life." Mike Madden, writing in Salon, found Obama to be "on his game" and quite comfortable talking about his faith, while McCain also acquitted himself well. Mark Halperin's grades of the two candidates don't show much variation: the two men alternate A- and B+ in various categories, and both average an A-. Read These Next A former NFL Pro Bowler has died at age 36. The massive AWS failure exposed a big problem with the internet. A man ended up dead after trying to steal from Spirit Halloween. Marco Rubio struck a controversial deal with El Salvador. Report an error