How do you like this for timing: On Friday, a new Gallup poll shows that Hillary Clinton has a substantial lead among highly religious white Democrats. On Saturday, the senator from New York sits down with David Brody for 25 minutes for her debut interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Brody asks about Clinton’s faith, of course, but note how the senator is the first to bring up religion in the wide-ranging interview, in response to a question that ostensibly has nothing to do with religion, but about whether she feels misunderstood.
By working the Bible into her response, Clinton suggests that one of the ways people might misunderstand her is in not realizing that’s she’s a genuine believer. And she makes a convincing case for her sincere faith by alluding to it before Brody gets around to asking his official faith question. Here’s an excerpt:

Are you misunderstood? And if you are, why?
You know, I have to believe I am because, time and time again, people who have been criticizing me in very harsh and personal terms, once they have gotten to know me, have apologized to me and have asked even for my forgiveness….
And I learned a lot during that time about how important it is to be constantly trying to live by the Golden Rule, to just put it very simply, but profoundly, and not to take so much of it personally. But there is an agenda at work for a lot of people, you know, some people do it for ideological reason or partisan political advantage, and some do it for commercial, you know, just to kind of use me as a kind of target to stir up emotions and passions and get people to tune in and listen to them, or whatever the commercial purpose might be. And you know I maybe have gotten too used to it.
How did your faith get you through some of those marital difficulties?
I believe that there is a purpose to everything that happens. You may not know it. You may not like it. And it is through that foundation of faith being so firm for me that I was able to sort of work my way to a resolution that was right for me. I was well aware of everyone else’s opinion and everyone else’s second guessing, but my faith protected me and gave me the space and the time to really come to an understanding of what was right for me and my family….

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