During a speech on Monday, Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said faith in God helped her cope with Bill's numerous infidelities.Still standing by her man, Sen. Clinton said Bill's admission that he did have an affair is what helped her decide to stay the course of her marriage to the former president.
"I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought," Clinton said during a forum where the three leading Democratic presidential candidates talked about faith and values.Sen. Clinton also said she was not sure if she would have stayed with her marriage if not for her faith.
Hillary was speaking in front of a forum sponsored by the liberal Sojourners/Call to Renewal evangelical organization. Also invited to speak at this forum were rivals John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama. This forum allowed these three presidential hopefuls the opportunity to speak about their most personal beliefs.
Sen. Clinton spoke openly about the ways she was tested both publicly and privately while the world debated her marriage. Hillary said it was during times like this that prayers and faith helped her cope with the many issues surrounding her marriage. Sen. Clinton went on to say that it is times like these were it is essential that you are grounded by your faith.
When it was his turn to speak. former Senator Edwards he prays-and sins- everyday. The crowd at this forum gasped loudly when moderator Soledad O'Brien asked Mr. Edwards to name his biggest sin. Edwards was able to gain the crowds support when he said he sins were so many that he could not name just one.
"I sin every single day," said Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee. "We are all sinners and we all fall short."Trying to score points with moderator O'Brien, Edwards appeared at this forum wearing a purple tie. Purple is Ms. O'Brien's favorite color. Edwards also described himself as the candidate best committed to the Democrats goal of fighting the war against poverty.
Edwards does not feel his belief in evolution goes against his belief in God. Edwards also feels gays should have the right to marriage, but he went on to say that as president he would not impose this marriage right on the rest of the country.
Edwards feels the United States should not be labeled as a Christian country even though Edwards states to have a deep and abiding love for God.
Edwards said he has been going to church since childhood and that he was baptized when he was a teenager. Mr. Edwards did admit he strayed off the path as an adult, but he came back to his belief in God when his teen-age son died in 1996.
"It was the Lord that got me through that," Edwards said, along with both of his wife's cancer diagnoses.Sen. Clinton on the other hand admitted her religious belief's do not come easy for her.
"I take my faith very seriously and very personally," she said. "And I come from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves."This forum allowed each speaker to have their say for 15 minutes during this CNN broadcast before a live audience from George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Clinton, Edwards, and Obama were questioned by Ms. O'Brien and church leaders from across the country.
Sen. Obama preferred to talk more about policy issues instead of any personal issues he may have. When asked about if he agreed with President Bush that the war on terror is a war against good versus evil, Sen. Obama said there is a risk in using such a narrow vision in defining this global struggle.
"The danger of using good verses evil in the context of war is that it may lead us to be not as critical as we should about our own actions," Obama said to applause.Sen. Obama went on to say the attacks of 9/11 were the results of evil, but Obama was quick to point out the United States treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay is unjust.
Read more about this group forum at Yahoo News
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