election

Top Democratic Candidates Talk Faith

By David Brody
CBN News

CWNews.com–--WASHINGTON - The top three Democratic candidates - Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, and ex-Senator John Edwards - bared a little of their soul Monday night, giving some fairly candid answers in a rare discussion about how faith has shaped their lives.

Organizers had hoped to focus on poverty but the talk took a different turn when CNN host Soledad O'Brien asked Senator Hillary Clinton about her husband's infidelity.

"My faith and the support of my extended faith family - people whom I knew who were literally praying for me in prayer chains, who were prayer warriors for me, and people whom I didn't know, who I would meet or get a letter from - sustained me through a very difficult time.

opic after topic turned into 'Must-see TV' as the candidates addressed a range of controversial topics including abortion.

"The pro-life and the pro-choice communities have not really been willing to find much common ground," Clinton said. "I think that is a great failing on all of our parts."

And when asked by O'Brien what she asked God for, Clinton said, "Sometimes, I say, 'Oh, Lord, why can't you help me lose weight? Sometimes it's … praying for discernment, for wisdom, for strength."

Many Democrats have admitted that they face a major challenge in developing a stronger connection with religious voters.

Republicans have done much better in recent elections. Polls show a majority of Americans want a president with "strong religious beliefs."

For months now, the three candidates have devoted campaign staff exclusively to faith issues. The tap dance for Democrats is to talk about their faith without alienating the party's base of secular voters.

"Do you think homosexuals have the right to be married?" O'Brien asked ex-Senator John Edwards.

"No. Not personally," Edwards said, although he does support civil unions.

e also expressed the belief that America is not a Christian nation

Barack Obama has been one of the most outspoken candidates about his faith from either party.

When asked whether he believed God took sides in a war he said,"I always remember Abraham Lincoln, when, during the Civil War, he said, 'We shouldn't be asking whose side God is on, but whether we're on his side.'"

And he appeared to support the concept of good versus evil saying, "I do think there's evil in the world. I think that, when planes crash into buildings and kill innocents, there's evil there."

With Democrats hoping to make inroads with religious voters, they believe faith talking events such the one held Monday evening will help their image down the road.

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