Clinton: Faith got me past marital woes

Source: Associated Press

In a rare public discussion of her husband's infidelity, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that she probably could not have gotten through her marital troubles without relying on her faith in God.

Clinton stood by her actions in the aftermath of former President Clinton's admission that he had an affair, including presumably her decision to stay in the marriage.

"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.

"I'm not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith," she said in response to a question about how she dealt with the infidelity.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_religion

---

Amen!

in hell in 2008!"

Praise the Lord.

that she chose to rebuild things after his clear infidelities and that she is glad she did...no religious claptrap that does not ring true. The voters will see through fake statements like that one

Do you not think it possible that she took her marriage vows seriously, and that she truly believes it was part of her Christian duty to work out her marriage if possible? The only people that truly know what happen in a relationship, are the two that are in it. And I don't think we have the right to say she's being disengenuous or fake w/ that statement.

I believe that Jesus says the only reason that is OK to Divorce a spouse is infidelity - so where is your faith now Hillary? Is your faith with Jesus, or your desire to be President?

Waiting for the scripture quotes. Multiple wives were common.

Indeed that is a central tenet of his brand of Christianity-- something the religious right forgets until one of their own is caught with his pants down. Matthew 18:21-22: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" NIV This exchange occurs after a parable about a man who refuses to forgive a small debt after he had been forgiven a great debt. Leave Hillary alone on this one.

I believe you're referring to the Pauline letters as he's the one who writes concerning marriage. While he does state that infidelity (and death, too) are the two valid reasons for divorce, he goes on write that that divorce is not an implicit consequence of infidelity-- at that point, he makes it clear that it's the choice of the person cheated on to divorce or not.

Thus, infidelity is not necessarily concomitant with divorce according to the Pauline doctrine.

matters of faith in the past smells phony. She should drop the religious angle and stick with that she chose to work though her husband's rampant infidelities and things are better now. That would demonstrate real strength of character that people can relate to. Dress it up in what *appears* to a religious pretext would ruin that.

No, of course not.

He clearly was not faithful to HRC with more than one person and more than one time.

She has been proud of her faith and has mentioned it often throughout her life. The Clintons actually do go to church every Sunday and have for decades. They don't wear their faith on their shirt sleeves like many in the GOP but they actually practice it. Yes Bill was unfaithful but Hillary obviously loves him and even through the hurt she has managed to forgive him as a good Christian would do. If Chelsey is any example of how the Clintons live their lives then we all should be extremely proud they are here in America working toward the good of the country...There is a lot of hatred out there though and almost all of it unfounded and based on right wing untruthful attacks. It truly does take a village and the sooner America realizes that the better off this world will become.

She could leave the religous trappings off the table and gain more in the esteem of the electorate since she is clearly perceived as not being "a person of faith". Around the water cooler, it really does appear her faith statements appear to be a put up job.

Which is exactly the way they want it.

The louder they are about it, the more suspect they are. When somebody starts talking about how they are a Christian and throwing God into every sentence, their faith is more to be suspected than someone who just lives it.

This is all personal, so Hillary should not have to explain it, but if she wants to, fine. There's no reason she's a hypocrite because she isn't loud mouthed about her faith.

If you read any books, biography's or history of Hillary or Bill Clinton, it's clear their religions have been a very important part of their lives. They have both been going to church since childhood and it's been well documented that they are both very religious. I continue to be surprised at the attacks Hillary Clinton gets on this democratic message board. It's a shame.

The Clinton's go to church. Why would one assume that they wouldn't use faith to endure lifes issues like other Church folks????

The Clinton's are democrats who don't force religon on people. They don't talk of it every chance they get, trying to give the impression they are good Christians.

Alot of folks that speak of it constantly are trying to implant the idea that they are good Christiains to others. Like the Bushes. He hardly ever attends Church. But because he spoke about God, and other 'code words', Christians thought he was the more Christian canidate.

The Question was how SHE handled it and got through that time in her life. If she is a church goer (which she diffently was at that time), who is to say it wasn't FAITH that got her through it.

It has a higher chance of being truthful then any of Bush's (and some other republicans) "christian' statements.

Campaigns are full of stories of Christian faith, but demonstrations of Christian values can be hard to find.

I'm sure she's in favor of motherhood and apple pie, too, but I'm not likely to be moved by such rhetoric. Let her show me how seriously she takes "Thou shalt not kill," and maybe she'll impress me.

...Is Mary Beth Cahill lurking around somewhere in the Clinton camp?

Which group is more likely to take Church consuling more seriously?

In such a setting, faith is what is used to heal the person. To remind a person that there is more then just the 'here and now' aspect of life.

The Clinton's never did wear their religon on their chest or try to use it for political reasons. On the flip side, the Bushes talk about God all the time. Says that God called him to become President, yet he hardly ever attends church.

He sounds so truthful in his comments, hers sounds so fake. But hers is more likely to be the truthful statement. She lives it, he doesn't. He just uses it, she doesn't.

and I find demeaning. But they all seem to be into it.

To single out Hillary, is wrong.

Limbaugh, Savage, Hume, Gibson, Robertson, Buchanan, Novak and for that matter, Couric, Williams, Gibson, Matthews, and CNN talking heads to be on the airwaves 24/7, 365 days a year inundating america with the constant drumbeat of "all liberals are unchristian heathens who want to kill babies" rhetoric. How dare a christian on the left stand up for 1 second and say, "uh, no we're not".

:sarcasm:

Hillary stood by Bill- as a political calculation to become President. If she were truely a STRONG woman - she would have divorced him - as 99% of Americam Women would have.

Hillary is one heck of a competent and impressive woman, and she's not even my favorite.

Love to see your stats.

my cheating husband. Looking back some 40 yrs, later - I was not strong.

reads like Hillary baiting.

You must not think marriage is worth much, if something so common as infidelity must destroy it.

I find the poster's statement about "strong" women very insulting. A woman who can overcome cheating in a relationship and move past it IS a very strong woman.

You are full of shit.

:shrug:

how many marriages/relationships do survive infidelity and I know that for a fact.

Trust me; I know.

You can call it political calculation if you wish. Some of us, however, have been there and it's not always best to "dump the jerk." Neither you, nor I, nor anyone here knows the intimate details of the Clintons' marriage. They stayed together, and it seems to be working for them. That's good enough for me.

Bake

That's the real question

For some people Faith is what keeps them going.
Others find other outlets.

though does she? Maybe she had faith that she and Bill could get past the incident, because their family was worth saving.

That would have silenced her critics from both the Left and the Right. The Left knows that Reagan never went to church, and his wife used to rely on astrology to guide them. The Right won't say a word!

It's like "faith" is some mantra to be repeatedly invoked but without substantial content. To me, those words don't mean anything. Does she mean faith in Jesus Christ? Faith in a higher power? Faith that the afterlife is better than this one? Faith that her husband loves her? Faith that she can weather anything? It's all a bit vague.

Why she stayed with Bill really isn't anyone's business besides hers and Bill's. The country needs to get over it already.

Faith takes many forms.

I believe they love each other. Bill exudes power and sex. He can't help it. He just brought Monica to her knees with his charisma. How long could any mortal woman last? Chemistry is chemistry. I still believe that she was nudged his way on purpose and it was entrapment. We will never know. Paula Jones had a lot of Republican money behind her. Don't forget.

"Bill exudes power and sex. He can't help it. He just brought Monica to her knees with his charisma. How long could any mortal woman last?"

Oh my... I'm so glad this is all past us now. That said, I think there are plenty of mortal women who would not have sex with Bill Clinton. Furthermore, while I also suspect "entrapment" of a sort, the principal thing is that Clinton was ever susceptible to such activity. I wish he had been more disciplined.

I also believe that they feed-off of each other and that Bill can't be sexually faithful.

This is more than just ONE unfaithful experience for it has been happening multiple times over the course of Bill Clinton's Political Career. As with Flowers, HRC stood up for her man.

What about the fall-out of emotional baggage for these "other women?"

No, serial infidelity is not what I'd define as a good marriage, regardless of the political perks. :shrug:

Saw him joking at the Graham dedication. People love Bill Clinton. Men or women.

It surprised me when I first read about it, I think it might have been in The New Yorker, but yes, Hillary Clinton has certainly professed her faith in God on more than one occasion, and outside of political implications.

Not everything is calculated. If she's a practicing Christian, I'm not going to disparage her for that. Many people turn to God, anyway, in times of great trouble and personal distress.

Hillary will be submitting her application.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Hillary professing her "faith" doesn't bother me in the least. I believe that she and Bill really are people of faith. I can think of a lot of bad things to say about Hillary, but her being a hypocrite when it comes to religion isn't one of them.

I agree with you that the wingnuts who specialize in judgment won't buy it, though.

"while religious people will reject anything that does not embrace their own narrow sectarian views"

After reading your rather close-minded and broad-brush opinion, how about a "NON-religious people will reject anything that does not embrace their own narrow sectarian views" back at ya. Do you believe all christians are RW loonies? Don't believe everything the MSM crams down your throat.

Why do you believe a democratic presidential candidate who is talking about their faith is automatically "pandering"? Maybe they really believe, I know I do, and most democrats profess to be christians. Does that make us mythology-believing idiots to you? Do you want our votes counted in our democratic party, or would you rather the democratic party be made up of solely non-religious people? For that matter, do you want any swing-voters votes? Congratulations, let me know how that works for ya....

This close-minded attitude is exactly what Coulter-Hannity-Limbaugh-Hume-Gibson-Ingraham-Savage-O'Lielly crowd FEAST on as they pummel not only their sheep, but also mainstream america, with the "intolerance" of the "secular progressives" (O'Lielly's favorite phrase) about anything to do with religion. When mainstream america think of the term "christian" and "christian right" as one and the same, the sarcastic attitude displayed in comments such as yours is just as much to blame as anything Coulter says.

As you yourself noted, they love to talk about the "intolerance" of the "secular progressives." In response, Democrats fall over themselves to refute the implicit charges of being atheists by putting on the big faith show. Atheist/agnostic/secular people made up 16% of Kerry's vote total in 2004. Perhaps it would be better to work on fighting anti-atheist prejudice rather than blaming atheists for Republican anti-atheist attacks on the Democratic party.

You can't seriously be saying that if atheists call you names, you would abandon the Democratic Party, could you? Your commitment is that fragile? The commitment of Christians to the Democratic Party is that fragile?

is put on a faith show?? Sounds like you've been reading Ann Coulter.... ie, how could a democrat actually have real faith??

"You can't seriously be saying that if atheists call you names, you would abandon the Democratic Party, could you? Your commitment is that fragile? The commitment of Christians to the Democratic Party is that fragile?"

No, I never said my committment is in jeopardy. And how patronizing and condescending of you to question christians committment to this party after the crap we take from both the left and the right. However, I am "seriously saying" that if mainstream america continues to have the democratic party portrayed in front of them by MSM and the Coulter/Hannity crowd as being openly hostile to those of faith, why do you think that we could ever effectively win the hearts and minds of mainstream america, and move this country to a more compassionate, sensible nation?

discussing the state of the Clinton marriage.

Alternate Topics:

National Healthcare
Torture
Sectret Prisons
Guantonoma
Energy Policy
Status of Illegal Immigrants
Immigration, period
Repeal of Bushtax cuts
Cost of Collehge Loans
Cost of College, period
NAFTA
Dafur
Nuclear Weapons (ours)
Nuclear Weapons (theirs)

A coworker today told me she "hate(s) the Clintons" because B cheated and H stayed married to him.

Geez oh man. Who the hell cares?!

barbara "battleaxe" bush stayed with george h.w., so why the double standard? Or is george h.w. a better man because his affair spanned years and years? It was common knowledge on the Hill. Kitty Kelley discusses it in her book, The Family. If it weren't true, she would have been sued six ways from Sunday. All the details are there. george h.w. used to be a handsome man, and he had a lot of political power. (Still has the power.)

There was a tacit agreement between g.h.w. bush and Bill Clinton not to mention the issue of infidelity when Clinton ran against him for president. That's why there was barely a peep about Bill's past until after he got in office. Then the floodgates opened.

Whatta buncha of hypocrites people are who slam the Clintons. It's always damned if you do and damned if you don't. Your coworker should take a good look at herself in the mirror.

but I don't blame her, she was speaking in from of evangelical christians.

She is running for president, her job is to kiss ass at the moment.

She's been doing just that for eight years.

I finally gave up on her. She's like the Democrat version of John McCain.

make you think they are kissing republican rear? Maybe she's kissing mine as a christian democrat, or maybe she's kissing some swing voter's rear who hears every day from the MSM that christians are republicans, as you seem to have swallowed hook, line, and sinker....

:eyes: :puke:

Not my pantheon of choice, either, but I do respect other people's beliefs. Of course I'm pagan so I'm pretty open minded.

A Methodist. There's nothing wrong with that, or of being a Christian. I'm not one, but almost everyone I love is, and they do their best to emulate Jesus, which is a pretty good value system to emulate.

Don't tell my husband I said that.
:hide:

Just because the Clintons don't advertise themselves as Christian doesn't for a minute mean they are not. What happens in a marriage is between two people. If they happen to be Christian, it is between them and their God.

Just because infidelity is an acceptable reason for a divorce doesn't mean divorce is mandatory.

Just because Repuglicans are obsessed with what happens between consenting adults doesn't mean we all have to be.

It is ironic that the Clintons are (or at least were) churchgoers and the Bushes aren't. Their lives exhibit a lot more of the "fruits of the spirit" than the Bushes.

The importance of it in a marriage... hmmm ...Don't you think

It was her belief in her (and their) political destiny that got her through it.

Sure, Republicans who will never vote for her wont buy it- but the media & the GOP will look kind of strained and petty challenging her answer, wont they?

After all, arent they pro-marriage as well as pro faith?

I'm no Hillary fan, but I think this answer serves to insulate her to a degree...

:eyes:

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

"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,"

....faith can bring people together....faith can give you the strength to reach out to friends you never knew you had; make friendships you thought were impossible....and a strong faith could even allow you understand how foolish you might have been in the past and encourage you to 'see the light' and change your 'evil ways'....


Clinton, who says she’s "always been a praying person," has moved into the territory John Edwards had hoped to claim as the moderate Democrat who cares about the average American.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/09/politics/main1600694.shtml


....it's good to have God-fearing candidates just like the Republicans....

I don't believe for a moment the clintons believe in god.

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I've met some atheists who were a few ants short of a picnic.

You're breaking DU rules, too, btw.

In a long damn time. How exactly do you KNOW that "most" intelligent people are atheists? CAn you cite a peer-reviewed study? Can you cite ANYTHING AT ALL other than your own biases?

Sheesh!

Bake

Enjoy your short stay.

Who is holier? Which candidate is the most pious? Just for once, I wish we had a candidate who would not start with this shit, or who would say something like, "I refuse to use my faith as a talking point, next question?"

I hate this crap...

Where Sarah tells her husband Abraham to shtupp his maid, Hagar?

Good grief. What woman hasn't thought, "I'm so tired . . . "

C'mon, be honest. Am I the only one who doesn't think infidelity is the #1 deal breaker in a marriage?

fidelity

to resort to whatever faith they may follow when they are faced with a personal crisis. I'm having a tough time understanding why so many of you are criticizing her.

'look at me! i have FAITH! that good old fashioned old time religion! vote for me!'


seriously though, who is gonna take this seriously? certainly not the fundies, if that is who she is trying to pander to.

These people say it better than I could:

"Faith is believing in what you know ain't true." -Mark Twain

"It is as morally bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good as it is not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it." -Edmund Way Tecle, 1950

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.” -George Bernard Shaw

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying." -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

saying that God talks to him when he prays.

and yes, Senator Clinton's faith has been well documented, for years.

Personally, I don't care if Hillary dances naked at midnight during the full moon and chants in tongues, but - like a person's sex life - it's not necessary for me to know the details. As for John Edwards, he'd be wise not to mention God talking to him. Been there, done that.

:eyes:

The usual Hillary bashers are out in force.
Meanwhile, Obama, who attended the same forum and discussed
faith is still walking on water.

what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought."

Gee, who does that remind me of? Hmmm, let me think . . .

Sorry, one deluded faith-based president is already one too many for me!

She was talking about her decision to stay in the marriage.

By the way, how's your man Dennis doing?
Has he reached 1% yet or is he still at *?

Hillary Rodham Clinton has discussed her faith in the past - she has always gone to church regularly, unlike some Republican so-called Christians I can think of who never seem to show up at church.

Also, I very much appreciate that she termed this "faith," instead of specifying her own religion. I am not Christian, but I do have great faith in the Goddess/God/One. I went through some major crises and changes in my life in the past few years, and I have told people that my faith helped me through. In fact, I've said pretty much exactly what Hillary Clinton said - that I might not have gotten through it without my faith.

I think that this is a perfectly reasonable thing to say, and I appreciate her inclusiveness.