Red, right & blue: 4 women on how faith and politics are changing in 2008.(Discussion)

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2008 IS A YEAR OF FIRSTS: the first African-American presidential nominee and the first viable female presidential candidate. And for the first time since, Jimmy Carter was in the White House, evangelicals are not likely to vote as a bloc. Polls show large numbers of Christians are considering crossing party lines, while some high-profile Christian leaders have said they don't like either party's candidate and won't vote. Believers usually staking their choice on one or two issues are weighing a range of topics including war environment, immigration, and poverty.

With so much to think and talk about, we invited four Christian women of various political leanings to meet at a home near Washington DC to discuss these complex issues and their effect on faith and relationships.

Are you at all disappointed we don't have a female running for president?

Katelyn: I'm excited Hillary got so far. It was amazing to have a minority, a woman, and a typical white guy in the running for so long.. I don't think I would have voted for Hillary, but I'm proud of her for defying a lot of odds and sticking it out that long.

Amy: I was a militant feminist even in elementary school. I had a Geraldine Ferraro button I wore on the playground in a conservative town. So I expected to feel something when the first woman ran who had a legitimate chance of becoming president. And I was surprised not to. I kept running into women who felt the same way, so I wrote a story about it for Time.

Was Hillary's campaign a letdown?

Amy: No, I just think an idea is sometimes more exciting than the reality. A real person has flaws. I was fascinated talking to many women who said the Democratic primary made them ask themselves what it means to be a woman involved in politics today. Does it mean you have to vote for a woman if she runs, or does that simply mean you have a different political perspective from men?

A number of women told me Obama was really …