Comments (57)

In truth, we don't know she wasn't being Judeophobic, do we? Dare we assume it based on assuming she's a Democrat? I guess. What a mess of regress.

Wow. Many great comments. A tribute to an inviting voice, determined to be grounded on earth, bearing gifts of real numbers - heavens! - an On Faith first. Like Chip, I'm heartened by the apparent increase in nonreligious in both Parties. My late husband was Jewish, so I'm conscience-bound to ask, re: the woman who "just had to ask" it was "so important"...Has Ms, Hoffman thought of how Jews in the audience felt? Imagine an old Jewish widower, a holocaust survivor, sitting alone hearing a quivering voice needing assurance, it being soo important, that Hillary wasn't Jewish. No one will ever convince my in-laws that such Christians, whom they believe are ALL Christians, so "loud" are they, are not Judeophobic but merely scared of secularists. (gasp!) It makes no sense to them. It has no precedent. Nobody would ever ask such a pointless question in their experience. Unreal.

Bukko in Australia,

Surely you know that former Australian PM, John Howard and current PM, Kevin Rudd are not embarrassed to admit their strong Christian convictions? PM Rudd is known as the most religious Australian PM in a century!

Add me to the commenters who have said: "ANOTHER Post blog to blather about religion?"

I'm a non-religious American who emigrated Down Under because I have moral principles, and I don't like paying taxes for George Bush's genocide. Aussie society is not perfect, but at least they're not excessively focused on supernatural sky beings like Americans. Not once has anyone here asked me what my religion is, even the occasional Muslim patients I take care of in the hospital where I work. By comparison, Americans seem like a nation of obsessive "God-botherers" as the Aussie slang term goes.

Many of you people come across like gibbering superstitious natives in some primitive tree-worshipiing tribe. Religion is a fine thing is you keep it inside your house of worship or use it to live by some moral principles in everyday life. But this constant harping on "Is so-and-so holy enough to be President" is just wack.

Meow.

TO ETS - yes faith mattered to every culture and society, even when that faith had the sun or the moon as the god. Mankind has created many thousands of gods and will continue to do so - it doesn't mean that it is right though.

THEDEFENDANT, I'm no Clinton fan, but out of fairness, it must be said that your analysis, while obviously heartfelt and sincere, is what you say Hillary's answers. I read your post twice without finding one single instance of dishonesty, prevarication, duplicity, lies, or distortion in her responses. She evaded a trap set by the leading question of who showed better judgment in two isolated statements, as if judgment were a concrete property of words and not an abstract quality of character When rightly she pointed this out, HE evaded. To not admit she had a valid point was intellectually dishonest of him, if you must, but professionally risky. Plus, he needed to keep to his script Are you working for Clinton's campaign? Clever, clever...

I'm not sure there's too much hope for America if one is to believe the misogynistic output from HOPEFORAMERICA. I suspect that if he (I'm guessing it's a he :))were to accept his whole bible he would include the passages in Job where Job offers his virgin daughters to the crowd who were baying to "know" (i.e have sex with) the angel instead.
I wonder if his version of the Christian bible is the King James version (or a derivative of it) and if he is also comfortable with the historical evidence that King James was an extremely promiscuous homosexual whose main motives for commissioning the re-writing of the texts were primarily political.

Aaron -
Tough luck. Faith mattered before our government was created, while our government was being created and it matters now.

My thoughts: Why would you waste space in this newspaper talking about Hillary or anyone's religious beliefs? Who cares?

Did you read what you wrote, and I quote:

"Hillary said she was raised a praying person by her Methodist father, and even if she hadn’t been, she quipped, she would’ve started praying after her first night in the White House. She recounted life as an altar girl, of her years in Sunday school, and as a member of the Methodist youth fellowship. As if on cue, Hillary’s Sunday school teacher stood up. (Clinton staffers later insisted to reporters that it was truly a coincidence.)"

You know it wasn't a coincidence and you know that most readers want to hear her response to the hard questions. It was obviously another plant... ugh!

You should have been out there asking and writing about the hard questions they asked her. Perhaps there weren't any hard questions. Did you think about asking her about impeachment and about what many, many Americans consider to be the crimes of this administration? Did you think about asking her if she, as President of the United States of America, would do anything to investigate those potential crimes and hold Bush/Cheney accountable after she's in office? Did you think of asking her the BIGGEST hard question about how she will act to restore the US Constitution, if she will revise/remove the directives and the executive orders that were set-up by this adminsitration in case they decide to declare martial law? Does she as a sitting Senator even know that they've done that? I'd like to know if she even realizes that they could decide not to hold elections in November. Did you think of asking those questions? If yes, then would you please ask her or any other candidate your might be sitting in on those HARD questions on our behalf? Did you think of asking her if she's worried about the fact that they set everything up for a reason? Did you think of asking her what she and her fellow candidates would do if they woke up tomorrow and suddenly didn't have a voice if the administration decided to carry out those directives and executive orders? And finally, did you think of asking her about habeous corpus and if she will be available in the Senate to vote on the most important piece of legislation in the 2007-2008 Congress, i.e., FISA and the telecom immunity clause? You know that she and Obama didn't even show up for the vote last time, don't you? Does that worry you? Perhaps I'm allowing myself to know too much. Perhaps I'm worried about what I know to the extent that it's not healthy for me. But who is watching these clowns as they begin to ratchet up the talk of holding "Iran responsible" if we Americans don't do it? Aren't you worried?

I guess it's easier to write a story about how close to God she is and to listen to what a sweet and God fearing girl she was a long time ago!

Much worse than Hillary's bearing false witness on Obama's record on Iraq is her craven amorality when dealing with the issue of torture.
(See: "Clinton backs off support for torture"; http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/6050.html).

Support for human rights shouldn't be contingent on the results of a focus group or a recalibration of a triangulation strategy.

Americans need to relearn their history both the good and the bad. We need to stop this cycle that we seem to have been for a century. It is time to take America back. We need a leader who place America first. We need to kick the UN out and go back to at least a semi-neutral country. We need to tell the courts to back off and stop taking it upon themselves to rewrite the laws set by our Legislation. We need a President that will take responsiblity for their actions and stop playing this party war, and be willing to stand up to Congress and get them to understand that our Constitution is what it is and nothing more or less and force our Supreme Court to use it and our signed treaties as the only basis for interuppting laws and those that refuse to need to be impeached by Congress. However, I have yet to see a candidate that has that fortitude yet. I also strongly feel that NO woman should be President. The Presidency was not designed or created for a woman. A woman has no business being Commander-in-Chief of our military. We need someone who will look beyond race and religion, and force the people to see that we are just Americans. We need someone who will stand up and say that only those here legally can benefit from what this country has to offer (ex: due process, free education, and government assistant, etc...) If we can not find someone who can unite this country as Americans, then we could find ourselves in the middle of another civil war. Our past is what it is, and we need to move past it. We need to take inventory or ourselves before we start judging our politicians; because if we can say we made mistakes and it is not the result of something that happened years or centuries ago; then how can we expect our leaders to do the same.

If a politician wants to claim to be a Christian; then they need to re-read their Bible for how a true Christian would act (that includes a female not leading men) As far as, I am concerned Hillary is not a Christian; because if she was, she would not being running for President. If you call yourself a Christian, then you have to live by the whole Bible not just the parts that you agree with. If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then you have to believe it all and not just the parts that you agree with.

Isn't there an ethical problem with the ideas of Hell and salvation? Should God be operating or approving a torture camp?

JUST what we need! Another WaPo religious blog!

The insiders must think the subprime debacle is going to be really, really bad, if they think we need this level of consolation.

Hey, and nice to that Iowa voters have no problem with religious tests for high office -- nor, I might add, Christianist propagandists such as yourself.

"In Iowa, it seems it's better to be polite than opinionated." No, no, no, in Iowa, it's possible and best to be both. That man screaming ideas at passers-by might have shared them inside, where the politically interested were gathered. Only he'd have also to share the floor and be challenged to listen. That he'd rather risk frostbite invites some minor "tsk, tsking" from elderly Iowans, causing Ms. Hoffman to tsk, tsk right back at their opinionated lack of politeness or something.

I suspect Americans have had enough of religious fervor. Enough of faith based decision making. And enough of the right wing Christians who act anything but Christian. Most of these people don't even understand what being a Christian is with thier talk of war and destroying other religions. It is such crap.

Evasiveness,duplicity, dishonesty, prevarication, lies, spin, dissembling, distortions: those words describe how Mrs. Clinton responded to Tim Russert this a.m. on the news program "Meet the Press." Here are some selected quotes from the interview transcript for anyone doubting the duplicitous nature of Hillary Clinton.
MR. RUSSERT: "Casting your vote for conviction for the authorization for use of military force against Iraq resolution. That same week Senator Obama gave a speech, and this is what he said: 'I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.'Who had the better judgment at that time?"
Hillary Clinton: "Well, Tim, let's put this in context. You didn't show my entire speech--of course, you don't have time to do that--because I made it very clear that my vote was not a vote for preemptive war...My belief was we did need to pin Saddam down, put inspectors in. But I said I was against preemptive war, I spoke out against it...But let's look at the--let's look at the...
MR. RUSSERT: But...
SEN. CLINTON: Wait a minute, let me finish.
MR. RUSSERT: It's, it's import...
SEN. CLINTON: Let's look at the entire context.
MR. RUSSERT: Well, let's just...
SEN. CLINTON: Because by 2004, Tim, by the summer of 2004, Senator Obama said he wasn't sure how he would have voted.
MR. RUSSERT: But you voted for all the funding for the war.
SEN. CLINTON: I did. I never--I'm not premising my campaign on something different.
MR. RUSSERT: And then until '06 was against the timetable.
SEN. CLINTON: But I did what I--my principle concern has always been doing what I thought was best for our country and what I thought was best for our troops. I'm not here saying anything different than that. I'm not giving you a story line that does not hold up...
MR. RUSSERT: But did he have better...
SEN. CLINTON: ...under the facts and the times we were in.
MR. RUSSERT: Did he have better judgment in October of 2002?
SEN. CLINTON: You know, look, judgment is not a single snapshot. Judgment is what you do across the course of your life and your career.
MR. RUSSERT: A vote for war is a very important vote.
MR. RUSSERT: You say you've been deeply involved in the eight years of the Clinton administration. One of the powers given to a president is the power of pardon. At the end of the president's second term, he granted 140 pardons, including one to Marc Rich, someone who had been convicted of tax evasion, fraud and making illegal oil deals with Iran. Were you involved in that pardon?
SEN. CLINTON: No. I didn't know anything about that.
MR. RUSSERT: No one talked to you whatsoever?
SEN. CLINTON: No. No. Unh-unh.
MR. RUSSERT: His ex-wife gave $109,000 to your campaign.
SEN. CLINTON: Well, no one talked to me about it, Tim.
MR. RUSSERT: Nobody?
SEN. CLINTON: Nobody.
MR. RUSSERT:Ruth Marcus, Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton doesn't need to play the woman-as-victim card ... using gender this way is a setback."
SEN. CLINTON: Well, you know, I don't think that either of us should use gender. I don't think this campaign is about gender, and I sure hope it's not about race....Clearly, I bring the experiences of women. As a daughter, as a mother, as a wife, as a sister. That is who I am.
MR. RUSSERT: Let me, let me ask you this way. Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian, I talked to her and she's been on MEET THE PRESS, talked about the qualities in a president. And she said one of the most important is that you learn from mistakes. Looking back on your vote in October of 2002, what can you learn from that mistake, the way you'll make decisions in the future?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I have said that obviously, I would never do again what George Bush did with that vote. He misused and abused the authority that was given to him, in my opinion...Obviously, President Bush doesn't listen to me or a lot of other people, and unfortunately, we're in the situation we are now, and we're going to have to have very careful and steady leadership to get us out with the least amount of damage.
MR. RUSSERT: ...that your campaign has talked about extensively. I want to go back to a debate back in October of 1992, when a young governor from Arkansas was talking about experience. Let's listen.
(Videotape, October 11, 1992):
Pres. CLINTON: I believe experience counts, but it's not everything.We need a new approach. The same old experience is not relevant.And you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people, and it will bring real results if we have the courage to change.(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: That could've been written by Barack Obama.
MR. RUSSERT: Doris Kearns Goodwin said, "What's the biggest public adversity a person has ever faced?" What's yours?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think we all know that, we lived through it, didn't we, and it's something that was very painful and very hurtful.
MR. RUSSERT: What did you learn from it?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, you know, first of all, it is who I am as a person...."

In the above excerpts we see that Mrs. Clinton deflects Russert's question asking her what has she learned from her biggest mistake, first, by not admitting to ever have made a mistake, and second by her turning the question around to blame George Bush for not "listening" to her. Not for a moment does she answer Russert's simple question with a direct answer. She will never publicly admit to error: she never explains, she never complains: hence she is the kind of person who simply gets over or gets even. All she does is try to spin Russert's questions. Every sentence she speaks these days seems to be a lie, including the "the's," "and's" and the "is."

I cannot believe that from the time I was a child some 64 years ago how distorted people have become. I am one of the 25 percent who is agnostic, however I do try to live by one rule from my Christian upbringing. That is the "Golden Rule".

How people who are so intolerant and so biased can believe they follow the bible is beyond my comprehension. I am astounded. Where is it not said of Christians that to err is human but to forgive is holy?

Stop slandering your fellow men and women with your Satanic degrading.

Great! Another forum for religion hating bigots to demonstrate their intolerance!

Although I don't think that you need religion to be a great leader, I'm sure it helps. In every religion, there is strong moral base, and these morals in themselves make a person a better person, although you don't need to be religious to be moral. Nonetheless, religiousness grantees morality in some people's eyes. Although this not the case with some of our present and previous leaders.
I think that "religious appeal" is a good term to use in the case of religion in a candidate. Although "Christian appeal" is more like it. I have my doubts that many people would vote for Hilary if she was of one of the more "exotic" religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism. Which is rather a shame, as both of these religions posses excellent morals. But I can see how most Christians would want a Christian President.

One of the strengths of this great country is that it was founded by enlightened (probably atheist or at least agnostic) people like Thomas Jefferson, who had the wisdom to separate religion from politics. You only have to look around the world and look back through history to see what happens when religious people control politics - the retardation of progress and civilization and long periods of ignorance and fear.
Religion hinders progress, it has been this way throughout history, the fastest way for America to lose it's pre-eminence in the world is to continue to elect leaders who lead with faith rather than facts. Too many people seem unable to separate morals and good character from superstitious belief in the supernatural and the altered texts of some ancient fables.

I think we are far too quick to label people as evangelical or traditional and believe that it has much bearing on the role it is playing in their lives. I supose if you identify yourself in such simplistic terms it might be acceptable. But everyones beliefs are different, not from denomination to denomination, but from pew to pew. Surely there isn't anyone left who is naive enough top believe that these candidates are there on a religious mission? If that possibility exists then we most definitely need to be asking these questions, if only to protect ourselves from an extremist.
Competence trumps religious affiliation in my preferences. George Bush's "gut" failed us. If evangelicals and catholics are waiting for the republican party to do something about abortion they have more faith than brains. After 6 years of a perfect majority in all houses the republicans didn't end abortion. That's because they are never going to. It is the only policy card they have to draw in the middle class who's interests aren't represented any other way.
Don't get me wrong, the republicans have managed to transform Christianity in America. We are the only Christian nation in the world who hold the poor in contempt, accept our government torturing people, and think war is divine.
What this country really needs is a religious blog in the Washington Post. Then we'll start pickin' winners!

It is truly ridicules, that Hillary Clinton, about whom Barbara Olson wrote her book - Hell, To Pay,is now religious person. Barbara Olson was killed in one of 9/11 planes, probably, paying with her life for this daring book; and it is more than ridicules or, more precisely, monstrous that the person with such terrible prehistory, as Mrs. Clinton has, is daring to appeal to religious people.

ETS:

Your faith can matter to you in any way you see fit. When it comes to our government, I just want the focus to be on the policies our elected officials will put in place, and not on whether their faith, or lack thereof, agrees with yours.

[quote]Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'[/quote]

And this if of course why Catholics believe not only faith but good works matter. Not just saying "I believe" and judging others with no Christian aspect to your own life. Many Protestants also feel that way even if their church may not teach it. We've all seen what happens when we take someone's word for it and then we see their truth in action. Why does it seem that the ones who want to tell everyone else how to live turn out to be the biggest freaks? When did it become "UnChristian" to believe "Bear ye one another's burdens" applied to more then Halliburton and Big Oil?
I don't care where people pray. I'm not voting for Pastor, I'm voting for President. I care about how their moral fiber informs their actions. No religion, no denomination, no political party has a monopoly of virtue, on integrity, on judgment. Anyone who pretends to and boasts of it, and belittles others, needs to remember the "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall". (Lord, has that come to pass this decade.)

Faith matters. Accept it. Don't fight it. It always has. It always will. Some folks are just starting to notice.

Indeed, the Clintax Maffia is devisive, especially in how they cover up zipper boys sexual molestations. Consider this: The Clintons will tell any lie, betray any friend, to gain and keep power. Power for power's sake is what drives this corrupt, EVIL couple. Read this quote from the young jewish intern who was seduced and soiled by the President of the United States in the Oval Office on the Great Seal of the United States.

"After Clinton's autobiography My Life appeared in 2004, Lewinsky said in an interview with the British tabloid Daily Mail:"

"He could have made it right with the book, but he hasn't. He is a revisionist of history. He has lied. (...) I really didn't expect him to go into detail about our relationship (...) But if he had and he'd done it honestly, I wouldn't have minded.... I did, though, at least expect him to correct the false statements he made when he was trying to protect the Presidency. Instead, he talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet and he just couldn't resist the dessert. (...) That's not how it was. This was a mutual relationship, mutual on all levels, right from the way it started and all the way through. ... I don't accept that he had to completely desecrate my character."

A man of honor would have taken full responsibility for the moletation of a young woman only a few years out of childhood. There was more than a 20 years age difference, an infinite gap in power, yet this blow job obtained under color of authority is blamed on the young woman.

@ larry G.

It doesn't matter whether someone is gay or not, or whether you disagree with that or not. It is no business of the government's to make faith or moral based laws. Thomas Jefferson (a deist, not a christian) wrote about a separation of church and state, including faith based morals.

Even a republican, Ron Paul, who opposes abortion, will not pass federal anti-abortion laws.

Ms. Hoffman,
anyone wanting to know about Sen. H. Clinton's faith could have look it up in her bio or in her official page. In my opinion, all the tall nervous woman in Donnelson wanted, was for her neighbors to know what a good Christian she- herself- is, by saying:"Okay, that's really important to me. God be with you".

One day we will have a candidate who, when asked by an audience member if they are a Christian, will reply, "none of your business." That's who I'm voting for. All the others are waiting for God to tell them what to do. No wonder this country is in so much trouble.

I look for a candidate who has strong convictions and lives by them as well.
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. When he fell into the hands of robbers. They stsripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan [non-Jew], as he traveled came where the man was: and when he saw him, he *took pity on him*. He went to him and bandaged his wounds... put the man on his donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'look after him' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
Which of these three do you think was a true neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise." [Holy Bible Luke 10:30-37]
That is the kind of candidate I look for. Not one that professes religion, not one who carries religion in their portfolio, not one who prefers one race over another. A candidate who can help America no matter what we use our freedom to be.

Mrs. Clinton and her quest for the presidency are both the obstacles of USA political life, and the faster they are overcome- the better. It was the very adequate religious approach to Mrs. Clinton when she was painted as the embodiment of Satan on earth. Remember - , when she liked so much to wear black pantsuits and red blouses. I would like to address readers of this blog to my farce - The Impeachment or The Art of Betrayal on my storefront www.lulu.com/aepelbaum to illustrate the core of Mrs. Clinton, including her religious beliefs, as well. The preview there includes this entire farce.

Oh great! Another WaPo blog on religion!

David,

Let me clue you in to something. The "greatness" of any President is not measured in our lifetime. You might sincerely believe that President Clinton was the most successful during your lifetime, but only history will decide that. Think Abraham Lincoln was a great President? Of course he was. But if you had lived in that era your opinion would most likely have been the complete opposite. It is widely accepted that Lincoln wouldn't have carried a second term even without regard to his assasination.

As far as Hillary is concerned, you really just have to laugh. She was convinced that Bill's affair was the product of some vast right wing conspiracy, and then this weekend, she comments that she doesn't pay attention to polls. Right. Her husband made every decision based on which way the wind blew and she doesn't? That's rich. The early polls show Obama spanking her in NH and, all of a sudden, she pulls out the Bill Clinton card and starts crying. Coincidence? I think not.

I think religious should have nothing to do with politics. A president of USA is elected not only by christians but protestants and other religios as well. It means nothing if a president is catholic and send soldiers for war to kill other people. It matters how he or she rules in the name of good things to americans.

It doesn't look that Mrs. Clinton's religious beliefs helped her to win NH democrats. Other way, numerous pre election polls should have mirrored this fact, and they didn't. So, the only explanation for Mrs. Clinton's election victory in NH is the fact that she (and her associates on her orders) helped herself, "slightly fabricating" NH election's results. She, I am pretty sure of it, did it. And she should be held responsible when it would be proven. We can't have the proven criminal nominated, or even elected, can we?

when the murders put the knife to your throat and say renounce Jesus, you better have your answer .

Interesting how the author suggests there is only divisiveness amongst Christians with regards to Republicans.

Personally, I would like to see more exploration of the racist organization to which Obama claims to be involved, rather than the faux religion Hclinton as ascribed herself to in order to pander to the "religious" left.

Hers is an interesting religion. What with the killing of the unborn fully sanctioned, homosexuals in the clergy, etc.

I wonder which bible they use? And how much of it is thrown in the garbage in order to make their own personal situation ethics manageable?

Hey, you Bible thumping/pro-abortion Democrats, ever come across the verse, "I formed your inward parts. I knit you in your mother's womb" ???

Ah, how you must rejoice at the news of another late-term slaughter.

Abortion is the high sacrament of the Democrat Party

Have a Blessed Lord's Day!

Well, it's not a very "low key" brand of Christianity when it comes to the movers and shakers shaping policy in Washington.

When she arrived in Washington, she joined a right-wing prayer cell with Susan Baker, wife of Bush consigliere James Baker; Joanne Kemp, wife of conservative icon Jack Kemp; Eileen Bakke, wife of Dennis Bakke, a leader in the anti-union Christian management movement; and Grace Nelson, the wife of Senator Bill Nelson, a conservative Florida Democrat.

That was in advance of her ascendancy to be a member of the secretive group "The Fellowship" in which she has rubbed her elbows raw with the likes of Rick Santorum (in fact, co-sponsoring with him the "Workplace Religious Freedom Act" which allows medical facilities to deny birth control to a rape victim based on the religion of the emergency room doctor among other things), Brownback, "Macaca" Allen, neocon Joseph Lieberman and so on: a rogue's gallery of Judeo-Christian fascists.

You can read more at

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html

So to all the right wing mouth breathers out there giving her such a lambasting: Hillary's your gal, and you're too uninformed to realize it!

Are you kidding me? Hillary's religious appeal has nothing to do with her getting votes in New Hampshire. This blog on this paper is so inappropriate as to be laughable. I can't believe the Washington Post has stooped to this level. But, perhaps this is a product of new ownership at the Post? Who knows?

All I know is that the religion of Democratic Party candidates has nothing to do with their vote-getting in the nomination process.

G. W. Bush was perceived as a good christian and yet he started a war by deceiving us. We could have contained Iraq in other ways. He went to war to prove that he is not a whimp or maybe to revenge the planned killing of his father. This kind of war was immoral to start. Wars have many death. War is killing of innocents. But american voted for him twice. American voted for R. Nixon,
a person that broked our laws. All this proves that voters are unable to see behind their candidate's facade and unable to distinguish professed religion from sincere spirituality.

Your post (column) plus the little biographical intro raise some interesting questions/observations:

-Donnelson is in Lee County which has two largish population centers: Ft. Madison and Keokuk which would probably dominate the politics of the county. But it is proximate geographically (and presumably culturally) to the very rural and sparsely populated Van Buren county. Is there some nuance to the Iowa political process that would afford the Clinton campaign some advantage to stopping in Donnelson for any reason other than to reconnect with Mrs. Clinton's Sunday school teacher?

- It's also interesting to note that this is a Sunday school teacher of the Chicago area almost 50 years ago; another Iowa export returning for retirement whose views may impart some texture?

- It would be very interesting to know Marilyn's response to your religious views and all their sundry influences: does the rural Christian Iowan feel any need to resolve the theological inconsistencies they must spot in folks like you (and maybe me) who must (may?) sidestep the monotheistic requirements couched in absolutist terms by evangelicals?

- Along the same lines, you've identified yourself as one of those Iowa emigrants who introduced a sleepy town not just to a polyglot religious other, but also to vegetarianism (bean sprouts, tofu and pepper jack cheese), dependable foreign cars (Volvos), high quality coffee and, of course, levitation. How have these things mixed in that sleepy town over the past thirty years? Do the cultures (and religions) remain separate or have the locaL MYF (or PYF) evolved because of the perturbation of TM?

I'll look forward to reading your blog. Thanks!

Hillary is a christian? Yeah, right. And I'm the Pope. What a bunch of horse manure. She is profane, lacks integtiry, ethics and morals. Maybe that is what the libs like, who knows. Pro abortion, pro homosexuality? Not exactly biblical principles.

Ms. Hoffman, has an approach I find infuriating. An important question about energy policy in the future, and all she can do is say how boring it is - "zzzzzzzzzz." But a question comes about the candidates religion and she perks up. I can't help but wonder how much projection is going on with her take on the crowd's reaction. It's the policies the next president will put in place that will make a difference for the future, not what their religious beliefs are.

It seems most of the religious talk by candidates is just to get votes. Look at the Republicans, they speak about all these values and pretty much do the exact opposite. One thing Hillary has going for her - Bill was the best president we have had in this country in my lifetime. Look at the facts, job growth, peaceful times, sound monetary policy, among many other things unlike today. I just saw where Huckabee wants to put a 22% national sales tax on our every purchase. Let's see, combine that with an average 7 or 8 per-cent that the states have already, and every item you buy would cost 1/3 more. Unbelievabe! Talk about doing away with the middle class fast.

Bangalee Babu is on point. Moreover, Jesus never killed anyone, neither did he advocate killing anyone, nor did he sanction killing anyone. He laid down his life rather than kill, and commanded his disciples to follow his example. A Christian, by definition, follows the example of Christ.

I don't care whether or not a candidate believes in God as I do. What I do care about is a candidate claiming to be Christian while waging war or killing by other means for other reasons for the American empire.

Jesus despised hypocrites. So do I.

I find a bit of comfort in the percentages cited of non-believers. Almost a quarter of the democrats and ten percent of the republicans. Maybe we'll see a viable non-believing candidate before I die. Now that the political power of the evangelicals is crumbling (thanks to the worst president in history and his rubber stamping cronies in the congress with their corruption, anti-gay bigotry, and Terri Schiavo craziness), I suspect it won't be too many more generations before overt religiosity starts to backfire.

Eventually the electorate has to outgrow the infantile notion that a candidate's professed religion says anything about their character (it doesn't) and that the amount of time they spend pandering to the faithful and waving their faith like a flag says a great deal about their character. None of it good. I long to cast my vote for a candidate who'll stand before the American people and tell them that their personal faith or lack thereof is no one's business but their own, and maybe even chastise the questioner.

If only there'd be a candidate brave enough to give Tim Russert the smack upside the head he so rightly deserved for posing the hugely inappropriate debate question about the candidates favorite bible verses. There's a quarter of the electorate that's sick to death of such idiocy. Who will speak for us?

Refreshing to note people have the courage to ask serious questions.

But a stronger question was on tap and never asked:

Does your Bible contain the order to not kill and does your Bible contain stories about sodom and gomorrah?

Then the real squirming would start!

You cannot claim to be Christian but ignore GOD'S Commandements.

That's hypocrisy!

Hillary is anything but a religious activist.

She follows the proscribed format like the good girl she is, was trained to be, and will be forever.

Religious challengers are those that question religion and debate God. Hillary doesn't.

Religiously, Hillary knows her place and stays in it, along with her spouse, for better or for worse, despite the fact that neither is apparently willing to give up childhood religions.

That is the mark of a religious loyalist, in any religion.

In fact, there may be no religious disloyalist in the entire field of candidates except perhaps Obama ( but who knows?) He's not talking.

Romney follows the religious training of his youth as do most candidates. Huckabee is, after, all a minister of some 12 years in the making.

No surprises or religious liberalism here except in the sects to which each adheres. None are, in theory, out to alter America's religious loyalties.

Every candidate understands he or she must profess some religious belief as a prerequisite for running for office. I'm fairly certain a healthy percentage of political officeholders don't actually hold the supernatural beliefs they profess, but understand that's the price of being in the arena (Hillary may or may not--who knows?).

Morman, Christian (Evangelical or otherwise), Muslim, Wiccan or Pagan...the particular flavor of invisible-friend-with-superpowers doesn't much matter. From a personal point of view (and I understand it's a minority point of view), only when candidates convince me both of their true belief and that they would make governing decisions based on that belief (i.e., Huckabee), is the candidate unqualified to hold office. That does usually rule out Fundamentalists of any flavor, as their faith nearly always mandates they establish the rules by which others must act.

i was was baptised as an adult in a methodist church that had a woman pastor and ast pastor. the pastor is now a bishop and catherine will always be the one who baptised me. although i'm far from the traditional christian example eye think on some days the good methodist people still claim me from a distance of coarse.. spirituality and personal belief should be worn like a loose garmet i think or it has the tendancy 2 turn into a strait jacket....thus hindering the facilitation of actual acts in the real world...with real people... intentions without actual deeds are fantacies that waste the time that could be utilized actually doing some small but real deed in front of the person who wishes 2 do good .... but i'm just an artist please check 4 truth

There is indeed a lady of the same name as Hillary's Sunday School teacher in Donnellson, Iowa.

Perhaps that is why Hillary stopped in Donnellson. She knew that her old SS teacher would at least bring a few friends to hear her!

Gary

I hope someone there at Newsweek would take a look at the site baptistlife.com to see how Howard Fineman's column today on Huckabee is playing.

I have been to the Faith in Public Life site today and seen the letters the likes of Randall Balmer and Brinson have signed about Exit Polls.

Somebody may want to come to the Baptist Church of the Covenant, a progressive Baptist Congregation in Birmingham, Alabama to see how the Obama/Clinton faith factor is playing in the other baptist world; other than Huckabee

that has infected our politics since Reagan floated that bromide as a sop to the rubes.

Interesting, MoinSenoir Mr. MARK! Ya !

Eeeeeeeee Haaaaaaa!

I have found it quite refreshing that Obama ended both his Iowa and NH post-primary speeches WITHOUT uttering the now-obligatory, "god bless you, and god bless America," pandering that has infected our politics since Reagan floated that bromide as a sop to the rubes.

I've been concerned about Obama's overt faithiness, finding it to be R-lite pandering. But his recent speeches coupled with his break from the tired tradition I mentioned above has me looking at him with fresh eyes. I like Hillary, presumed she was going to be the candidate and would vote for her without trepidation, but there is something about Obama that's more consistent and fresher than everyone else out there.

Interesting times.

VOTE: ((( Peace Warmth Love Rock nRoll nRap Mitt Mrs. & Mr. ROMNEY for Prez 09, YEA! ))))))))))

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Praise the LORD Eponymous ECLATi,.

Hallaluja!

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