Surviving Presidents Honor Billy Graham's Years of Counsel

May 31, 08:20 PM

Current Headlines: CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ They reunite rarely, usually at funerals of state or grand pageants of the republic.

But Thursday, the nation's three surviving ex-presidents _ George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton _ gathered to honor a man who'd served each one in his time as friend, adviser and spiritual guide.

The Rev. Billy Graham, said Bush, has been "a constant radiant of light, light of truth."

Keynote speaker for the dedication of the Billy Graham Library, Bush is a longtime friend and closest of the former presidents to the famous evangelist. It was Graham who delivered the invocation and benediction at Bush's 1989 inauguration.

Though only two weeks from his 83rd birthday, Bush delivered the address with a vigor that matched the oratory of his four-year presidency.

His voice cracked twice _ when mentioning the bedridden Ruth Graham and in reflecting on the impact of Graham's life:

"He is a spiritual gift to all of us," Bush said. "God bless Billy and Ruth Graham."

Graham provided solace, Bush said, as he made "the hardest decision to make as president" _ the Grahams were overnight guests at the White House on January 16, 1991 when Bush ordered Operation Desert Storm to commence.

Carter and Clinton, both Southern political leaders during the turbulence of integration, spoke Thursday about Graham's role in civil rights.

Carter said he remembered being asked to help organize a Billy Graham Crusade in the racially polarized town of Americus, Ga., four decades ago. A biracial planning committee could not get a single white church to let them use the sanctuary for meetings.

Graham didn't attend the crusade, but a movie about him was featured, Carter said. About 640 people, white and black, answered the call to the altar at the end.

"This was a major breakthrough," Carter said, "in integrating our county."

Clinton spoke of Graham's role in standing up to white supremacists during the 1957 school desegregation struggle in Little Rock, Ark. The city's White Citizen's Council tried to get Graham to come and preach to a segregated audience.

Clinton said that Graham replied if the service weren't open to all, he'd decline to attend "and tell the world why." The service was integrated.

"It was the beginning of the end of the Old South in my home state," Clinton said.

Since the Truman administration of the 1950s, the Grahams have been frequent guests at the White House, invited by Democrats and Republicans.

As America's foremost pastor, Graham's counsel has been sought by presidents on matters both spiritual and political.

Under the spiritual category was a summons in 1968 to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington where Dwight Eisenhower lay dying.

"How can I be sure, Billy, that my sins are forgiven?" Ike reportedly asked.

Graham's reply: No need to worry.

Eisenhower sought out Graham's advice on how to approach the crisis in Little Rock, where a white mob was preventing integration of Central High School. Send in troops, Graham advised privately. Eisenhower did.

Graham's first dip into the realm of the presidency was, by contrast, a disaster. Invited to the White House in 1950 to pray with President Truman, Graham met the press afterward and described in detail their private meeting, a breach of White House protocol.

Graham, 31 at the time and naive on such matters, even agreed to kneel on the White House grounds for news photos.

"He claims he's a friend of all the presidents, but he was never a friend of mine," Truman later wrote. "All he's interested in is getting his name in the papers."

It wasn't until 1967 when an older and wiser Graham visited Truman in Independence, Mo., that the rift was smoothed over.

Seeking to defuse the issue of being the nation's first Catholic president, John Kennedy invited Graham to play golf at his family's Palm Beach, Fla., retreat in 1961. Their summit went well. Graham said later that Kennedy's election promoted better relations between Catholics and Protestants.

Lyndon Johnson called on Graham frequently. At a White House dinner before the Democratic National Convention in 1964, Johnson ran down a list of 14 possible running mates, seeking Graham's choice. Ruth Graham objected, politely.

"Billy ought to limit his advice to you to religious and spiritual matters," she said. The matter was dropped, temporarily.

When Lady Bird Johnson and Ruth left the room, Johnson pressed the question.

"Hubert Humphrey," Graham replied. That November, the Johnson-Humphrey ticket won by a landslide.

Graham prayed at both inaugurations for Richard Nixon, to whom he was so devoted that he could not believe the president had a role in Watergate.

Graham wept when he read a transcript of the Watergate tapes, though their friendship continued. When Nixon died in 1994, Graham presided at the funeral.

Graham, a registered Democrat, afterward adopted a policy of political neutrality. He told Gerald Ford not to speak at a 1976 Graham crusade in Michigan. But they did become frequent golf partners.

Ronald Reagan also sought Graham's help and invited him to lead prayers at church services at both his inaugurations.

On Thursday, Clinton said that Graham has a gift of making anyone, even the leader of the free world, feel a personal connection.

"When he prays with you," Clinton said, "you feel like he's praying for you, not the president."

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(c) 2007, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): GRAHAMLIBRARY

GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): GRAHAMLIBRARY

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