WARREN: What’s worth fighting for?
OBAMA: Our freedom….
WARREN: Genocide?
OBAMA: There is no hard and fast line. But in cases where ethnic cleansing is taking place, we should take action.
WARREN: 148 million orphans in the world. They don’t need to be in an orphanage, they need to be in families. How about a President’s emergency plan for orphans.
OBAMA: A great idea. Need to work with NGOs and put something together.
WARREN: Religious persecution.
OBAMA: We need to speak out and not pretend that it is taking place. We need to manage our relationship with countries like China (a trading partner, we don’t want to go to war with them). We need to have a moral standing, by being a nation that abides by habias corpus and not torturing.
WARREN: There are 27 million in human trafficking.
OBAMA: This has to be a top priority. We’ve already seen bipartisan agreement. Need better tools for prosecuting those who perpetrate.
WARREN: In one minute, why do you want to be President.
OBAMA: Basic idea of empathy that my mother taught me. We’re at a critical juncture. I want to build bridges across partisan lines to come up with good solutions to critical issues.
(Lots of applause — which I thought was strange — it was a wishy-washy answer.)
WARREN: What do you say to those who oppose me asking you these questions?
OBAMA: These are the kind of forums that we need. I want people to know me well. I’m sure McCain wants the same.
WARREN: What would you tell the American people if you knew there would be no repercussions?
OBAMA: Solving problems like energy are going to require a lot of us to make sacrifices and work together.