On World AIDS Day, potential presidential candidate Barack Obama stood in front of the Saddleback megachurch in Lake Forest, CA to hold a frank discussion about sexuality and spirituality. He declared that condoms should be more widely available to fight the AIDS pandemic and urged political unity to fight the disease which has killed 25 million people since 1981. Currently, some 40 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “We are all sick because of AIDS,” said Obama. “We are all challenged by this crisis.”

Obama’s appearance at one of the largest evangelical churches in the country was a source of dispute among conservative evangelical leaders because of his views on abortion. In a show of political unity, Obama took an AIDS test with Republican Senator Sam Brownback. Brownback is a potential rival for the White House who has great support from the conservative evangelical community, but Obama has warned liberals against allowing Republicans to claim the Christian vote. After applauding Brownback’s efforts on the AIDS issue, Obama said, “There is one thing I’ve got to say, Sam, though: This is my house too. This is God’s house. So I just want to be clear.”

“I also believe we can’t ignore the fact that abstinence and fidelity, although the ideal, may not always be the reality, that we’re dealing with flesh and blood men and women and not abstractions, and that if condoms and potentially things like microbicides can prevent millions of deaths, then they should be made more widely available. That’s my belief,” Obama said. He continued by stating that Bush doesn’t get enough credit for committing $15 million against HIV and AIDS over five years.

Obama said that men and women were “contracting HIV because sex was no longer part of a sacred covenant, but a mechanical physical act.” While dismissing government programs to promote abstinence, he did say that churches can make a real difference by providing people with a moral framework to make better choices.

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