Well, it has been a week since I wrote my letter to Rick Warren, and — so far — no answer.
I know he’s been busy, what with finding hotel rooms for our two presidential candidates and their parties and drawing up a list of questions to ask them on Saturday.
But the only communication has been a news release dated July 31 and a lot of rumors, and I find both a little unsettling.
According to the news release, “Warren has known each candidate prior to their run for national office.”
And Warren is quoted as saying: “While I know both men as friends, and they recognize I will be frank, but fair, they also know I will be raising questions…beyond what political reporters typically ask.”
Well and good. Just so the hard edges are there, and the soft answers will be followed up by repeating tough questions.
The rumors mostly have to do with the distribution of tickets for some 3,000 seats in the Saddleback Church “worship center” where the questioning of Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain will take place.
All the rumors I’ve run across start with free tickets to longtime members of the church and about 500 accredited media people.
But, beyond that point, the rumors have to do with whether a block of tickets have been held out for public distribution.
One rumor suggests that up to 1,000 tickets might be offered to the public in a kind of raffle where the recipient would make a contribution of $1,000 and up to the church.
Another describes a lottery, yet another an auction with similar stakes.
These are highly sensitive areas because the Internal Revenue Service has warned several churches that their tax-exempt status is threatened when it is mixed with politics.
I’ve spent a lot of telephone time trying unsuccessfully to check out these rumors.
In that process I got acquainted with Whitney Kelly, who has the frenetic job of dealing with media for A. Larry Ross Communications, which is handling public relations for the church.
Each time I reach her, she tells me she is either coming out of or going into a meeting on how to handle the tickets.
She promised to notify me instantly when a decision was reached, but deadline has arrived without an answer.
Such a delay seems unfortunate because it allows the rumors to circulate and shifts the focus away from the candidates.
