Obama cites past drug use at forum on faith
Enlarge Photo US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (L) smiles as Pastor Rick Warren asks a…
By Jeff Mason and Ellen Wulfhorst
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama cited his youthful experimentation with drugs and alcohol as his greatest moral failing on Saturday at a forum on faith and values that also featured Republican John McCain.
The Illinois senator touched on emotional and controversial topics in the religious community, ranging from his support of abortion rights to his backing of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
The televised discussion, moderated by one of the country’s leading evangelicals, Rick Warren, was an opportunity for both candidates to reach out to religious voters who will be a key voting bloc in the November election.
“I had a difficult youth,” Obama said when Warren asked about his greatest moral failing. “There were times when I experimented with drugs.”
