<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Clinton candidly admits spiritual struggles
Sonya Ross - Associated Press
Friday, August 11, 2000
South Barrington, Ill. --- Baring his soul before thousands of evangelical ministers, President Clinton said Thursday he feels "this overwhelming sense of gratitude" to have gained a measure of forgiveness from Americans for his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton sat before an audience of about 4,500 with the Rev. Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and a Clinton adviser since 1992, for his most revealing discussion ever about his spiritual struggles since his affair with Lewinsky, a former White House intern, nearly brought down his presidency.
Turning a conference of evangelicals into a public confessional, he called the affair "a terrible mistake."
His utterances could have a political impact: Vice President Al Gore, a week away from nomination as the Democratic standard-bearer to succeed Clinton, has suffered in the polls from being tied to a president whose job approval is high but whose ethics have drawn widespread scorn.
"It may be that if I didn't get knocked down . . . I might not have had to really deal with it 100 percent," Clinton said, in apparent reference to his impeachment by the House of Representatives.
"In a funny way, when you feel there is nothing left to hide, it sort of frees you up to do what you ought to be doing anyway. I feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude. I also learned a lot about forgiveness."
He said more than 60 percent of Americans have "stuck with me."
As for people who say he never really apologized for what he did, Clinton said those who saw his nationally televised confession --- and watched him cope with the impeachment crisis --- could not possibly doubt his sincerity.
"There was a time when I was upset about it. But then I realized that was another form of defensiveness," Clinton said. ". . . It's just a crutch for not dealing with what you're supposed to be dealing with. So I just let it go. I hope people can see it's different."
Shortly after admitting to the affair with Lewinsky in August 1998, Clinton received counseling from a trio of ministers, who agreed not to reveal what they discussed with him. Clinton himself has said little about it as he has sought to repair his marriage with Hillary Rodham Clinton and his relationship with his daughter, Chelsea. He said his relations with his family remain an ongoing struggle. He declined to go into more detail.
Clinton said the Lewinsky episode was a low moment of his presidency, along with the deaths of American troops in Somalia, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the 1994 backlash against Democrats who supported him in Congress.
For those who call his family's church attendance an act intended for public consumption, Clinton said, "I think I have given evidence that I need to be in church. I don't do it for anybody else; I do it for me."
Clinton was warmly received, getting a standing ovation from the ministers.
Clinton was in South Barrington after a stop in Chicago, where he announced a plan to give lower interest rates to college students who make their first 12 student loan payments promptly, a move that would save them and their parents roughly $600 million over the next five years.
Today, Clinton sets off on a fund-raising swing in California.
> ON THE WEB: A clergyman's response to Clinton's actions: carpentershomechurch.net/Archive/clinton_whitehouse.htm
[/quote]
"to have gained a measure of forgiveness from Americans for his affair with Monica Lewinsky."
--Not from this American!
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
Clinton candidly admits spiritual struggles
Sonya Ross - Associated Press
Friday, August 11, 2000
South Barrington, Ill. --- Baring his soul before thousands of evangelical ministers, President Clinton said Thursday he feels "this overwhelming sense of gratitude" to have gained a measure of forgiveness from Americans for his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton sat before an audience of about 4,500 with the Rev. Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and a Clinton adviser since 1992, for his most revealing discussion ever about his spiritual struggles since his affair with Lewinsky, a former White House intern, nearly brought down his presidency.
Turning a conference of evangelicals into a public confessional, he called the affair "a terrible mistake."
His utterances could have a political impact: Vice President Al Gore, a week away from nomination as the Democratic standard-bearer to succeed Clinton, has suffered in the polls from being tied to a president whose job approval is high but whose ethics have drawn widespread scorn.
"It may be that if I didn't get knocked down . . . I might not have had to really deal with it 100 percent," Clinton said, in apparent reference to his impeachment by the House of Representatives.
"In a funny way, when you feel there is nothing left to hide, it sort of frees you up to do what you ought to be doing anyway. I feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude. I also learned a lot about forgiveness."
He said more than 60 percent of Americans have "stuck with me."
As for people who say he never really apologized for what he did, Clinton said those who saw his nationally televised confession --- and watched him cope with the impeachment crisis --- could not possibly doubt his sincerity.
"There was a time when I was upset about it. But then I realized that was another form of defensiveness," Clinton said. ". . . It's just a crutch for not dealing with what you're supposed to be dealing with. So I just let it go. I hope people can see it's different."
Shortly after admitting to the affair with Lewinsky in August 1998, Clinton received counseling from a trio of ministers, who agreed not to reveal what they discussed with him. Clinton himself has said little about it as he has sought to repair his marriage with Hillary Rodham Clinton and his relationship with his daughter, Chelsea. He said his relations with his family remain an ongoing struggle. He declined to go into more detail.
Clinton said the Lewinsky episode was a low moment of his presidency, along with the deaths of American troops in Somalia, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the 1994 backlash against Democrats who supported him in Congress.
For those who call his family's church attendance an act intended for public consumption, Clinton said, "I think I have given evidence that I need to be in church. I don't do it for anybody else; I do it for me."
Clinton was warmly received, getting a standing ovation from the ministers.
Clinton was in South Barrington after a stop in Chicago, where he announced a plan to give lower interest rates to college students who make their first 12 student loan payments promptly, a move that would save them and their parents roughly $600 million over the next five years.
Today, Clinton sets off on a fund-raising swing in California.
> ON THE WEB: A clergyman's response to Clinton's actions: carpentershomechurch.net/Archive/clinton_whitehouse.htm
[/quote]
"to have gained a measure of forgiveness from Americans for his affair with Monica Lewinsky."
--Not from this American!
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
