Faith of Presidential Candidates
Faith and Values of the 2008 Political Candidates McCain and Clinton
Part One of the most popular 2008 Presidential Candidates' religions, faith-based speeches and commentary covering John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
The religious faith of the candidates will be playing an important role in the upcoming 2008 Presidential elections. We can see this by the rhetoric of the political pundits and news stories which consistently examine each candidates' views on values, social justice and world peace. We can get a glimpse into the mindset of each candidates' personal faith by examining what they say in their public speeches particularly those given in theological settings. Here then is an examination of some of the front runners' speeches.
John McCain (Rep. Sen-AZ) Episcopalian
Trinity Broadcasting Network once interviewed McCain about his personal Christian beliefs. During this fireside chat, McCain talked about his experience as a prisoner of war in Hanoi when his aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missle. Although his father was a high-ranking Admiral which pressured the Vietnamese to offer John an early release as POW, he refused to leave his military comrades behind. He tells us during this televised interview that his recipe for success in that kind of environment was 1) love of country, 2) love of fellow prisoners, since the enemy would like nothing more than for the soldiers to turn against each other, and 3) faith in God. He goes on to tell the story of his torture at the hands of the Vietnamese and how one enemy guard mysterious enters his cell secretly and loosens the restraints which bound John. In his book "Character Is Destiny," he further explained that this mysterious guard never says a word, never acknowledges him in later contact and John never sees nor hears from the guard again - yet John knows that God was answering his prayers for relief through the elusive stranger.
There is no question that when John McCain writes about courage and character, he speaks from personal experience. He has a deep abiding faith in God which sustains him and is not afraid to put anothers' welfare before his own. Recent press has unfortunately presented him as an old man who has not "bridled his tongue" and contemporary social pressure against anything which may be construed as politically incorrect (war and peace) or disciminatory (racist remarks) have caused this candidate to lose ground with younger voters who care less about his valor and more about his verbosity. McCain's recent trip to Iraq and his stroll through the marketplace to support military buildup may have also permanently scarred his credibility since the area was not as secure and improved as McCain had implied.
Hillary Clinton(Dem. Sen-NY) United Methodist
During the 42nd Annual Conference and Memorial of the Civil Rights March in Selma, Alabama, Mrs. Clinton gave a rather "loud "speech from the church pulpit. Holding hands with others on the podium she sang "We Shall Overcome," and later quoted James Cleveland's freedom hymn in an odd Southern drawl: "I don't feel no ways tired, I come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me the road would be easy. I don't believe God brought me this far to leave me." Which many listeners could have construed as Hillary's own theme-song.
During Hillary Clinton's speech given in June 2006 at the Sojourners Magazine's "Covenant for a New America" Conference, she along with the organization's founder, outspoken activist Jim Wallis, accentuated the need to end poverty, unfair wages and discrimination in employment. She has certainly shown her ability to practice patience in the midst of great turmoil and most recently told the press that if she is elected she would ask her husband Bill to act as a "roaming ambassador" to the world (AP, April 20) as if to add legitimacy to her own campaign and lack of experience.
Sojourners has just announced that this year's "Pentecost 2007: Taking Vision to the Streets" conference will be held from June 3 through 6 at the National City Christian Church in Washington D.C. Speakers Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama and John Edwards plan to be there.
See my coverage of Barak Obama and John Edwards in Part Two, "Presidential Candidates' Faith".
