Obama Sees Nothing Funny About Community Organizer

Praises Gov. Sarah Palin as "Skilled Politician"

Obama praised Palin as a "skilled politician," but said her selection as a running mate for McCain brought the Republican ticket more in line with the policies of President Bush.

"He chose somebody who may be even more aligned with George Bush – or Dick Cheney, or the politics we've seen over the last eight years – than John McCain himself is," Obama said in his first Sunday show appearance since accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.

Offering further response to the Republican convention, Obama made clear that McCain isn't the only presidential candidate willing to break with his party.

At his speech accepting the Republican nomination for president, McCain repeatedly emphasized his record of bipartisanship, and questioned Obama's commitment to that principle.

"I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed," said McCain. "I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not."

But Obama called into question McCain's commitment to changing the tone in Washington.

"For John McCain to say that he wanted to reduce the rancor in Washington... it sounds to me like he didn't listen to the first two days of his convention," said Obama.

When asked for examples of issues where he would consider breaking with his party, Obama offered three.

"I think that, on education, we do have to improve accountability. And I've not only supported charter schools, which the teachers' unions have opposed, but I've also said that we should look at pay-for-performance," he said. "That's not something that's popular in my party."

Obama said he would also support increasing the size of the military and reducing healthcare litigation costs, moves he said would anger portions of his party.

Speaking about abortion Obama said that his response on the definition of human life at Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum was too flip.

When asked last month at what point a baby gains human rights, Obama said last month "that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade."

But Obama told Stephanopoulos "what I intended to say is that, as a Christian, I have a lot of humility...all I meant to communicate was that I don't presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions."

Obama went on to explain, "that abortion is a moral issue, that it's one that families struggle with all the time. And that in wrestling with those issues, I don't think that the government criminalizing the choices that families make is the best answer for reducing abortions."