Both presidential candidates participated in a weekend forum hosted by an evangelical Christian leader over the weekend. Asked in the forum to name the most “gut-wrenching” decision he ever had to make, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said deciding to oppose the war in Iraq was “as tough a decision that I’ve had to make, not only because there were political consequences but also because Saddam Hussein was a bad person and there was no doubt he meant America ill.” Speaking on energy policy issues, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeated his call for offshore drilling. “We’ve got to drill now, and we’ve got to drill here (SFChron), and we’ve got to be independent of foreign oil,” he said.

McCain said he welcomed the U.S.-Poland missile defense pact. In a statement late Friday, he called the deal an “important step forward in protecting European nations from a growing threat — missile attacks from states like Iran.”