Hillary Clinton just announced that she’s the first presidential candidate to accept Saddleback Church Pastor/Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren’s invitation to join his annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church later this month.
A couple key excerpts from Warren’s press release announcing Clinton’s participation:

“Inviting politicians from different perspectives to the Summit is not a political decision – it is a humanitarian and Christian action,” said Rick Warren. “When millions are dying each year, we’re interested in lives, not labels. We want everyone to become concerned about the AIDS pandemic.” At last year’s Summit, Sen. Sam Brownback (R) and Sen. Barack Obama because both had worked together on AIDS on poverty issues.
….In accepting the invitation to participate, Senator Clinton wrote, “I commend Rick and Kay Warren for their work to fight HIV/AIDS. Our churches have a powerful role to play in raising the consciousness of the nation and the world to this pandemic and urge compassion for the sick and the suffering. When we come together, seeking the common good, we can find solutions to our biggest challenges and reinforce our faith that a call to action can change lives. I am honored to participate in this ‘coming together’ at the third annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church.”

Obama made big news last year by appearing in Warren’s AIDS summit, using the event to open a lasting dialogue with the evangelical community. God-o-Meter knows that Clinton has her work cut out for her in trying to pick up even modest white evangelical support. But as Democrats have learned in the last few years, simply showing up before evangelical audience goes a long way in blunting the Christian Right’s attempts to demonize them.

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