The Naperville forum

Some nice quotes from Obama from the Naperville forum: As Exhibit A, he held up his Republican opponent: "It's not clear to me that I want Alan Keyes telling me what it means to be a Christian," Obama said. ... "My Christianity has been challenged," said Obama, referring to Keyes and other conservative critics who allege Obama "hasn't taken the appropriate stances on a woman's right to choose . . . or gays and lesbians." "I come at Christianity through a lens that admits these other . . . views," Obama argued. While he insisted his faith does inform many of his policy positions, he said there is a problem with allowing faith to be the overriding factor: "Politics is the art of compromise. Faith is, by definition . . . not open to compromise." ... Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ, a liberal branch of Christianity that ordains women, gays and lesbians. "I am a Christian," Obama told the Naperville gathering, but added he wasn't raised in a religious household. "I came to Christ late in my life."