It's Easter and I'm trying to be nice. But as I recall, Jesus knocked down the moneychangers in the temple, so there's divine precedence, right? On This Week with Jake Tapper, here's the smarmy megachurch pastor, Rick Warren, who's already preparing for a possible change in administration (we last saw him preachifying at President Obama's inauguration) by spreading the blame around for the country's economic mess.

This man of God, the one preaching about "instant gratification" on the part of people who bought things, doesn't have a word to say about the crooks who tricked them into it. And he doesn't mention the wars and tax cuts for the rich that are the main drivers of our national debt. Nor does he mention his own $14 million net worth, because someone might quote Luke 18:22-23 to him:

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

I'm tired of these Prosperity Gospel snakes perverting the things that were so powerful about the person they claim to follow, trying to turn Jesus into some kind of Heavenly CEO. Oh, and Happy Easter!

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Two days after the fact, questions continue to surround John McCain's surprisingly strong performance Saturday at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. The mainstream media and blogosphere alike are abuzz with rumors that McCain pierced Warren's so-called "cone of silence" and, more serious still, may have purloined his legendary POW "cross in the dirt" story from the late Alexandr Solzhenitsyn.

But on one point, there is no dispute. Despite CNN's assurances to the contrary, Rick Warren simply asked Barack Obama and John McCain different questions.

From the very first question, Warren treated McCain with biblical kid gloves, editing out scriptural references that might have proven uncomfortable for the religiously reticent Republican:

QUESTION TO OBAMA: These first set of questions deal with your personal life as a leader and I'm not going to do this with any other segment, but as pastor I've got some verses that have to do with leadership. The first issue is the area of listening. There is a verse in Proverbs that says fools think they need no advice but the wise listen to other people. Who are the wisest three people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?

QUESTION TO MCCAIN: This first question deals with leadership and the personal life of leadership. First question, who were the three wisest people that you know that you would rely on heavily in an administration?

Chuck Todd of MSNBC was quick to note the strikingly different answers Obama and McCain offered, but not the clearly different questions they were asked:

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While John McCain and Barack Obama met with Rev. Warren at the Saddleback Church this weekend, the progressive Christian PAC Matthew 25 unveiled a new ad featuring religious leaders supporting Obama. In the ad, Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell - the Methodist minister who married Jenna Bush - takes a not-too-subtle dig at McCain over what McCain acknowledged to be his "greatest moral failing" at the forum - the failure of his first marriage.

h/t Dan Manatt at techPresident.

More background at Strategy '08.

Fulton County court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Judge Rowland Barnes, Sheriff's Deputy Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm. (reg req) The AJC has articles on the Fallen. Sorry for the reg.

Our thoughts go out to those who died at the hands of Brian Nicholls.

As I sit and watch cable news as I usually do, I kept seeing story after story on the strength and courage of Ashley Smith in the face of an unspeakable horror. Her devotion to God and the strength that her faith gave her to somehow overcome her ordeal. (no argument there)

Segment after segment these shows paraded every minister, preacher, evangelical, and man of faith they could find to bath the segments into "how the goodness of God" or "the power of Jesus" entered into the heart of Brian Nichols by Ashley Smith’s faith and convinced Brian Nicholls to turn himself in.

The real hero that most of them are touting is the book "The Purpose Driven Life" written by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, a megachurch south of Los Angeles. It has sold more than 21 million copies and has been near the top of best-seller lists for more than two years. Publishers Weekly says it is the best-selling hardcover non-fiction book in U.S. history.

Ashley Smith said that she read part of "The Purpose Driven Life" to her captor, Brian Nichols who formed a bond with his captive, calling her "his angel" and gave himself up.

So far there hasn’t been one segment done on the victims of Nicholls rampage. It's almost like they are an after thought to the story. The preachers throw around a blanket statement like " this is an awful tragedy" then get back to what they really want to talk about. As long as the right leaning shows can prove somehow that God had a hand in Nichols surrender, then "praise the lord" because God is the real hero in this mess. Jerry Falwell says that Nicholls must have been exposed to the lord somehow when he was a child " I don't know for sure" Why would he know? He wouldn't have bothered to look.

If I went on any of the shows to discuss the story with anyone of these TV hosts, I'll bet you a thousand bucks, not one of them could name all the people who were killed. I'm going to now again. Fulton County court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Judge Rowland Barnes, Sheriff's Deputy Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm.

I found myself in an uncomfortable position of actually agreeing with Bo Dietl, who injected some reality to the debate. (paraphrasing). "He looked out the window and saw all those cops so he gave up. He's a murderer " Thanks for reminding us Bo.

I say shame on them. Shame on all of them for dismissing the people whose lives were cut short by a brutal display of violence to promote their sense of spirituality.

Paula Zahn is doing an entire show tonight on the faith of Ashley Smith. Well I believe in spiritual principles also, but how do the families of the fallen feel about God right now? How do the families feel about Terry Ratzmann , and his listening to the teaching of "end times" over and over again? Here are their names again: Julie Ann Brandau, Rowland Barnes. Hoyt Teasley and David Wilhelm. If you really are a person of faith, say a prayer for them and their families.

Eight years ago, then Governor George W. Bush revealingly joked about his backers at the 2000 Al Smith Dinner. "This is an impressive crowd - the haves and the have-mores," Bush said, adding, "Some people call you the elites; I call you my base." With his own quip Saturday night that "$5 million" is his definition of rich," John McCain made no mistake that he is Bush's natural heir.

Now, there is nothing wrong with being happily rich and utterly detached. Nothing, that is, unless you make criticizing your political opponent as "elitist" and "out of touch" a centerpiece of your campaign. Which is why McCain beat a hasty retreat in an interview today with the Politico. (In that same interview, McCain with no sense of irony called lobbyists "birds of prey.") Without naming a number, McCain said:

"I define rich in other ways besides income. Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they’re billionaires."

Of course, by any accounting, the $100 million McCains are fabulously well-off (see the gold-plated details below the fold). But John McCain's staggering detachment from the real lives of the American people can truly be measured in dollars – and sense.

For starters, McCain in April declared that there had been "great progress economically" during the Bush years. On more than one occasion, he diagnosed Americans' concerns over the dismal U.S. economy as "psychological." (Phil Gramm, McCain's close friend and adviser supposedly excommunicated over his "whiners" remarks, was back with the campaign last week.) McCain, a man who owns eight homes nationwide, in March lectured Americans facing foreclosure that they ought to be "doing what is necessary -- working a second job, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets -- to make their payments on time." And when all else fails, McCain told the people of the economically devastated regions in Martin County, Kentucky and Youngstown, Ohio, there's always eBay.

In his defense, McCain's shocking tone-deafness may just be a matter of perspective. When you're as well off as he is, anything below a $5 million income (a figure exceeding that earned on average by the top 0.1% of Americans) seems middle class by comparison.

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