Engaging speaker; Keyes' appearance draws mix of fans, curious to forum

A mixed crowd of supporters, opponents and curiosity seekers filled First Congregational Church on Thursday night to hear U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes speak in the second of two forums at the church sponsored by an interfaith group.

"I came to see Sen. (Barack) Obama last week," said Naperville resident Sylvia Poremba, who attended the first forum held by the Naperville Faith Collaboration, which featured the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. "I was just interested in seeing both candidates."

Poremba said she's an independent voter and has yet to finalize her decision about whom to vote for. She said she is definitely leaning in one direction, but declined to say which candidate would get her vote.

Leo Katzenstein of Naperville said he volunteers for the Republican party and will be voting for Keyes. He said the event was an opportunity to hear a dynamic speaker.

"How many opportunities do you have to hear great oration?" Katzenstein said.

He said the war in Iraq is the most important issue of the campaign and he wanted to support the candidate and party he felt would be the most successful in the war against terrorism.

"I don't think my daughter would look good in a burka and that's what I think we're fighting against," he said.

Raj Cherian, a junior at North Central College, said he is a political science major and events like this are "what he lives for," but he isn't sure who he will support.

"I kind of think Keyes is, I don't know how to say it. I'm a registered Republican, I've been a Republican all my life but there's just something about this candidate that's not really ... " Cherian said, trailing off. "I just can't relate with him at all."

Keyes spoke to the crowd, which included people of all ages, about faith, the role it plays in his life and the role he thinks it plays in the government.

"The Declaration of Independence is the bridge between the Bible and the Constitution," he said.

He called the separation of church and state a "phony doctrine." The Constitution, he said, only dictates that the federal government can have no role in making a law about religion.

"What that actually says, is Congress can't touch this subject," he said. He added that the states, on the other hand, do have that power.

Answering questions from a panel about affordable housing and the economic climate, Keyes said the decline of the family unit is the root of poverty.

"If we want to really affect poverty we must work on the root of the problem, which is the collapse of the family structure," he said.

Dana Dondero of Warrenville said he came because he too saw Obama speak last week and wanted to hear what Keyes had to say. He said he will be voting for Keyes because of his conservative views.

A group of Naperville North students attending the event said that while they are not old enough to vote, they still wanted to hear Keyes speak.

"We love politics," said 17-year-old Laura McElroy.

They said they found his speaking style engaging, but didn't agree with him on most of the points he made, particularly regarding the separation of church and state

"I think our nation works so well because we have that separation of church and state," McElroy said.

Both the forums were sponsored by the Naperville Faith Collaboration, whose members are Muslim, Jewish and Christian, North Central College and the Naperville Sun.

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