Pentecost 2007 Presidential Forum - Transcript
Pentecost 2007 Presidential Forum - Transcript
MS. O'BRIEN: Let's get started this evening. We begin with the introduction of a former senator, John Edwards. He's first.
(Applause.)
A warm round of applause. Is it because you're first, or maybe because you own the crowd tonight? We will have to wait and see. Let's get right to it.
There was quite a little dust up that Republicans had in their debate over the question of evolution. So I'll put the same question to you. Do you believe in evolution, or do you believe in creationism?
MR. EDWARDS: I believe in evolution.
MS. O'BRIEN: What do you say to all the people -- and there are millions of people -- who go to church every Sunday and who are told very clearly by their pastors that in fact the earth was created in six days, that it's about creationism. Are those people wrong? Are their pastors wrong?
MR. EDWARDS: No. First of all, I grew up in the church, and I grew up as a Southern Baptist, was baptized in the Baptist Church when I was very young -- a teenager at the time. And I was taught many of the same things, and I think it's perfectly possible to make our faith, my faith belief system consistent a recognition that there is real science out there and scientific evidence in evolution. I don't think those things are inconsistent. And I think that a belief in God, and a belief in Christ in my case, is not in any way inconsistent with that.
MS. O'BRIEN: But there are people who would say well, it's actually -- isn't it mutually exclusive? I mean, either man was created by, you know, from Adam's rib or in fact that man came evolution-wise from apes. Aren't the two mutually exclusive?
MR. EDWARDS: No, I don't think they are, because the hand of God was in every step of what's happened with man. The hand of God today is in every step of what happens with me and every human being that exists on this planet.
MS. O'BRIEN: You had a question during the debate yesterday about gay marriage. And with all due respect, I thought you dodged it a little bit. So I'm going to ask you --
MR. EDWARDS: No, no --
(Laughter.)
MS. O'BRIEN: Maybe it's just me --
MR. EDWARDS: -- what a ridiculous suggestion. (Laughter.)
MS. O'BRIEN: -- but I will -- so I'll just ask it again maybe more pointedly. Do you think homosexuals have the right to be married.
MR. EDWARDS: No, not personally, and you're asking about me personally. But I think there's a difference between my belief system and what the responsibilities of the president of the United States are. It is the reason we have separation of church and state. And that very good people, including some people that I'm very close to -- my daughter who's sitting on the front row here tonight feels very differently about this issue, and I have huge respect for those who have a different view about this. So I think we have to be very careful about ensuring that the president of the United States is not using his belief system and imposing that belief system on the reset of the country.
MS. O'BRIEN: But is that your --
MR. EDWARDS: So what that -- I'm sorry -- what I was going to say is I think what that means in this day is the substantive rights that go with partnership -- civil unions, for example, and all the substantive rights that go with that -- should be recognized in this country -- at least in my judgment should be recognized. And I think it is not the role of the federal government to tell either faith- based institutions -- churches, synagogues -- what they should or should not recognize, nor should the federal government be telling states what they should recognize.
MS. O'BRIEN: If you think something is morally wrong, though -- you morally disagree with it -- as president of the United States, don't you have a duty to go with your moral beliefs?
MR. EDWARDS: No, I think that -- first of all, my faith, my belief in Christ plays an enormous role in the way I view the world. But I think I also understand the distinction between my job as president of the United States, my responsibility to be respectful of and to embrace all faith beliefs in this country, because we have many faith beliefs in America. And for that matter, we have many faith beliefs in the world. And I think one of the problems that we've gotten into is some identification of the president of the United States with a particular faith belief as opposed to showing great respect for all faith beliefs.
MS. O'BRIEN: Do you think this is a Christian nation?
MR. EDWARDS: No, I think this is a nation -- I mean, I'm a Christian. There are lots of Christians in the United States of America. I mean, I have a deep and abiding love for my Lord, Jesus Christ. But that doesn't mean that those who come from the Jewish faith, those who come from the Muslim faith, those who don't believe in the existence of God at all that they're not entitled to have their beliefs respected. They're absolutely entitled to have their beliefs respected. It is one of the basis for which our democracy was founded.
MS. O'BRIEN: I want to turn to get some questions from our host tonight, Reverend Jim Wallis, and also our very distinguished panel that we have with us as well. So Reverend Wallis, will you please stand?
Q Hello, Senator.
MR. EDWARDS: Hello, Jim.
Q In last night's New Hampshire debate, you rightly observed that the poor never came up. Well, they will tonight -- (laughter) -- so let's start right there. (Applause.
)
Senator, you often speak of the 39 million Americans who wake up in poverty every day. Many of us in the churches and faith-based organizations, for us this is a gospel issue, as you know. Changing this is a Biblical priority. So we are wanting to make a specific commitment to cut poverty in half in the next 10 years as a beginning. As president, how would you mobilize the nation and take concrete steps to accomplish that goal?
MR. EDWARDS: Well, let me first say thank you to you, Jim, and to Sojourners for its great leadership on what I think is the great moral issue facing this country today. And I would add to that this is the cause of my life. It is the reason after the last election that I went back to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, started a poverty center. It is the reason I've traveled around the world doing humanitarian work. It is the reason I helped lead minimum wage campaigns in six states. It's the reason I've helped organize thousands of workers into unions. And before I ever got in politics, it's the reason that I was involved with Urban Ministries, faith-based groups doing work to help the poor and one of the reasons that Elizabeth and I did a lot of other things -- starting after-school centers for kids who meet in playgrounds, libraries, et cetera. So I think there's a very long and consistent pattern of this being the cause of my life.
And I might add, everything I can do, everything in my power that I'm able to do, I will do to drive the issue of poverty in this presidential campaign so that everyone is required to talk about it. Because I think it is the great moral issue of our time. I've committed actually to an agenda of eliminating poverty over the next 30 years. I think it's a completely achievable agenda. There are lots of components to that agenda -- making work pay; having a living wage; making sure that workers can organize themselves into unions; having decent housing for families that don't have it; having true universal health care; helping kids be able to go to college, which is why I started a College for Everyone program for kids in a very poor section of eastern North Carolina. And I believe this is an agenda that should be the agenda -- a part of the agenda -- of the president of the United States. So there's not much doubt about where I am on this issue. I have respect for my colleagues who are running for the presidency, but I will say this is not an issue -- and I'd say this to everyone in the audience -- this is not an issue that I just talk about when I come to you. This is an issue I talk about all over America, in front all kinds of audiences, because it's part of who I am. It's who I am as a human being. And I will say this. This is such a part of my life that whatever happens in this presidential campaign, as long as I am alive and breathing, I will be out there fighting with everything I have to help the poor in this country. I can promise you that.
(Applause.)
MS. O'BRIEN: Senator, a gentle reminder -- you're welcome to stand, because you're going to be taking questions from our panelists, but I'll give you a gentle reminder you have exactly 15 minutes, and we have a lot of questions.
So I'll move on to our next panelist, the Reverend Sharon Watkins is a minister with Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada, a head of mainline Protestant denomination that serves three-quarters of a million people.
Go ahead, Reverend.
Q Senator Edwards, I'd like to ask you about prayer -- admittedly, a personal matter. How, if at all, has prayer been a source of strength and wisdom for you in your life? How would prayer influence the decisions that you make as president? And most importantly, when you pray, how do you know if the voice that you are hearing is the voice of God or your own voice in disguise? (Laughter.)
MR. EDWARDS: Let me -- (laughter) -- some would argue we sometimes have trouble telling the difference, right? I can tell you that it is a part of my daily prayer when I pray to ask the Lord to give me the strength to see the difference between what I want to do and what he wants me to do and to give me the strength to do his will and not my will. And those things are in conflict on a regular basis in every human being on the planet. And I think it's a huge challenge for all of us to try to draw that distinction. I can tell you that I pray daily. I've been through a faith journey in my life. You know, I would be the first to admit that. I grew up in the Baptist Church. I was baptized in the Baptist Church -- strong person, strong faith when I was young. I strayed away from the Lord for a period of time and then came back in my adulthood, and my faith came roaring back during some crises that my own family was faced with. And I can tell you that it is prayer that played a huge role in my survival through that. You know, when Elizabeth and I lost our son, we were not functional for some period of time, and it was the Lord that got me through that. And the same thing was true when Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer and then re-diagnosed more recently. But I mean, not only my faith but prayer has played a huge role in my life. It does every single day. It's what gives me strength to keep going.
MS. O'BRIEN: Our next panelist asking a question is Reverend Susan Johnson Cook. She's the first female president of the largest African-American clergy conference in the world, senior pastor at Believers Christian Fellowship -- go ahead.
Q Good evening, Senator.
MR. EDWARDS: Good evening.
Q "It Takes a Village" is an African proverb. In fact, one of your colleagues has written about it. But it speaks about -- (laughter) -- the blessed of us really helping the rest of us. Quite frankly, the African-American community has dealt with Katrina that our American village disappeared. You are president of the United States. What are the first two things that you'd do to rebuild the Gulf and New Orleans, not just the damage that was done physically but also the hopes of the people that were deferred?
MR. EDWARDS: Well, let me say, first of all, this cause of New Orleans is also very personal to me, because you may know that I announced my campaign from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. I took 700 college kids down to work during their spring break in New Orleans a little over a year ago. And I've been to New Orleans and to Louisiana repeatedly since the hurricane hit, including just a few weeks ago. The single biggest thing to be done is the president of the United States needs to put one person -- a very high-level, confident person -- in the White House in charge of New Orleans. And that person -- the president should say to that person I want you in my office every morning telling me what you did in New Orleans yesterday. And the next day saying I want you in my office telling me what you did yesterday. I'm not interested in what you're going to do six months from now. I want to know what you did yesterday, and I want to know what's happening on the ground the present -- what's happening on the ground every single day. What has happened in New Orleans is a national embarrassment. All of us should be embarrassed by it. (Applause.) And it's clear the problem will still exist, to a very large extent, for the next president. It's something that I will personally commit to making a priority.
MS. O'BRIEN: Senator, I'm going to have you sit while I ask another question if you don't mind.
MR. EDWARDS: No problem.
MS. O'BRIEN: Thank you. (Laughter.) And while this is not exactly confessional, there are a whole bunch of people out there and we certainly have enough clergy here, so I'll ask you this. What is the biggest sin --
MR. EDWARDS: I don't like the way this is starting.
MS. O'BRIEN: I know. Sorry. (Laughter.) What is the biggest sin you've ever committed? (Laughter.) Are you willing to say? You can take a pass, sir, as you know.
MR. EDWARDS: Just between you and me?
MS. O'BRIEN: Just between you and me -- (laughter) -- and the 1,300 people in the crowd.
MR. EDWARDS: I'd have a very hard time telling you one thing -- (laughter) -- one specific sin. (Laughter and applause.) If I've had a day -- I'm about to turn 54-years old this Sunday -- and if I've had a day in my 54 years where I haven't sinned multiple times, I would be amazed. I believe I have. I sin every single day. We are all sinners.
We all fall short which is why we have to ask for forgiveness from the Lord. To try to identify one particular sin that was worse or more extreme than the other, the list is too long.
MS. O'BRIEN: I was going to say it sounds like you're saying it's a long list.
Senator John Edwards, it's nice to have you talk to us today. Our 15 minutes is up.
MR. EDWARDS: Thank you.
MS. O'BRIEN: Thank you so much.
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