Responding to a crisis effectively is the number one duty of government and the most important talent a President can have in this era. Judging from a major slip in his numbers in the Zogby Poll, Barack Obama appears to have failed the gut-check imposed by the Russian invasion of Georgia and the recent presidential “debate” at the influential Saddleback Church.

     It was all reminiscent of the stereotypically liberal response Michael Dukakis gave in 1988 when asked, by CNN’s Bernie Shaw, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?"

     Dukakis replied, “"No, I don't, Bernard. And I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life. I don't see any evidence that it's a deterrent, and I think there are better and more effective ways to deal with violent crime. We've done so in my own state…” He continued his answer by applauding Massachusetts’ dropping crime rates and calling for increased international cooperation in drug enforcement.

     Shaw had meant to pitch a softball to Dukakis and the governor had swung and missed –big time-- with a dull, lawyerly answer that sounded oh, so stereotypically liberal, reinforcing the notion that liberals don’t care about crime victims –even if they are married to them. All that Dukakis had left to do to seal his fate was to put on his helmet and climb into that M1 Abrams tank…

     Fate pitched Barack Obama a softball in the form of the Russian invasion of our ally, Georgia, on August 8. Obama swung and missed with statement he made on the crisis to the press, interrupting his Hawaiian vacation: “I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis."

     If you knew nothing about either country, could you tell from Obama’s statement which country is an ally of the United States? Obama calls for an immediate end to the fighting and restraint by the countries, but does he propose a specific action, much less one that would benefit our ally, Georgia? As for “restraint, Georgia was invaded by Russia. With an enemy army on her soil, how is Georgia supposed to restrain herself?

     Obama calls on the U.N. Security Council and the international community to “fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.” Aside from the fact that Russia can veto any Security Council action, do you see an Obama proposal here that peacefully resolves the crisis?

     Obama’s statement was a Dukakis Special: dull, lawyerly in its vague mushiness and stereotypically liberal in tone.

     The morning of the invasion, John McCain went before the camera and demanded an end to Russian military action in Georgia. After making appeals for diplomatic pressure on Russia (no mistaking who he thinks are the bad guys) he called on NATO (which is not stymied by Russian vetoes) to assess Georgia’s security needs and to develop measures that can be taken to stabilize the situation. Finally, in the area of “peaceful resolution,” he called on an international peacekeeping force for South Ossetia (where the only “peacekeepers” have been Russians).

     In the days that followed, everybody swung over to McCain’s view –President Bush, Condoleeza Rice and even…Barack Obama. 

          Fast forward to last weekend and the Saddleback Church. Another softball was pitched to Barack Obama, this time by Rick Warren, pastor of the church. He asked Obama, “At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?”

     “Well,” Obama said, “I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade. One thing that I'm absolutely convinced of it there is a moral and ethical content to this issue. So I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.

     “But, point number two, I am pro-choice. I believe in Roe v. Wade and come to that conclusion not because I am pro-abortion, but because ultimately, I don't think women make these decisions casually. They wrestle with these things in a profound way. In consultation with their pastors or spouses or their doctors and their family members. And so for me, the goal right now should be -- and this is where we can find some common ground, and by the way I have now inserted into the Democrat Party platform -- is how do we reduce the number of abortions, because the fact is that abortions over the last eight years have not gone down.”

     Where do I begin? First of all, he never answered the question, claiming it was above his pay grade. What pay grade is higher in responsibility than the President of the United States? There are moral and ethical sides to the issue? No kidding. Obama's answer is, dare I say it, lawyerly in its vagueness and fairly stereotypically liberal.

     And, by the way, the number of abortions in the United States, according to a July report of the Guttmacher Institute (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html), has been steadily going down since about 1991 (the peak was 29.3 abortions per 1,000 pregnancies in 1981. In 2005 it was 19.4 procedures per 1,000). Obama was wrong on the facts of the matter.

     Warren later asked the same question of McCain: “At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?”

     The Republican answered, “At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States, I will be a pro-life President with pro-life policies. That's my commitment. That's my commitment to you," leaving no questions in the room about his beliefs.

     By this point in the campaign even Democratic politicians are publicly voicing alarm. The governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, put it very bluntly, “Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he [Obama] needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal Mart about how he would improve their lives.”

     That’s something John McCain seems to have no trouble doing.