Clinton Honors Graham at Last Revival (BG:Bill should preach,Hill run US!)

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP:
Clinton Honors Graham at Last Revival
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 25, 2005
Filed at 9:08 p.m. ET


NEW YORK (AP) -- As his final American revival meeting continued Saturday, a fragile Billy Graham was met onstage by former President Clinton, who honored the evangelist, calling him ''a man I love.''

Clinton spoke briefly before Graham's sermon and recalled how the man known as America's pastor had refused to preach before a segregated audience in Arkansas decades ago when that state was in a bitter fight over school desegregation.

''I was just a little boy and I'll never forget it,'' said Clinton, who was joined by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. ''I've loved him ever since. God bless you, friend.''

Graham called the Clintons ''wonderful friends'' and ''a great couple,'' quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow ''his wife to run the country.''

Graham, 86, then launched into a short sermon that was interrupted by applause five times. Organizers estimated 80,000 people had come to the crusade at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens -- about 20,000 more than the opening night Friday. The rally ends Sunday....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Billy-Graham.html

[lancdem]

1. Clinton has told the story many times of Graham

refusing to preach before a segregated audience when Big Dog was a kid in Arkansas. That's one of the reasons I respect Mr. Graham so much. Plus, he's also a Dem!

[PaDem]

2. Is he really a Dem?

I've never heard that before. Any links?

[lancdem]

4. I just read it a few days ago, but I forget where

It was during an interview he gave. Sorry I don't have a link. :hi:

[Tinksrival]

22. Here's another one with an interesting quote

The gospel of Billy Graham: Inclusion

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-05-15-graham...

"There are a lot of groups that feel a little bit strange around me, because I am inclusive," says Graham, who draws a distinction between "evangelical" — a label often claimed by conservative Protestants — and "evangelism."

"Evangelism is when the Gospel, which is good news, is preached or presented to all people," he says. When his soft, low voice shades deeper and stronger at the word "all," it recalls the deep trumpet tones of his prime.

"If I took sides in all these different divisive areas, I would cut off a great part of the people that I really want to reach. So I've felt that the Lord would have me just present the Gospel" and stay out of politics, he says.
~~~~~~~~~
I thought this was a really interesting analagy from the same article:


Graham says the changing winds of evangelism remind him of a scene from The Sound of Music. After Germany invaded Austria, the Austrian Baron von Trapp, astonished when a teenager snaps into a Hitler salute, says in dismay, "My world is passing me by."

"It's true for me," Graham says. "I see all this going on, but I just understand the basic principles that will be true in every generation. My world is passing me by."

There's no anger or complaint in his voice, just the calm of someone certain that another world awaits.

[bribri16]

52. I hear the Freepers gasping in horror.

When will they begin calling Graham un-patriotic, a senile old man, and giving aid and comfort to the enemy?

Strange the Clinton was the only major public figure to attend this event. What happened to all those televangelists and RW evangelicals?

[Ms Turtle]

62. Today show interview

He said in on the Today show in the interview they did.

[DeepModem Mom]

85. Thanks, Ms Turtle -- and welcome to DU!

[Ms Turtle]

63. Today show interview

He said in on the Today show in the interview they did.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. I don't have links, but believe that info has been posted here...

in the past few days. Graham, of course, has been friendly with all occupants of the White House during his career.

[satya]

9. Here's one...

http://www.detnews.com/2001/politics/0101/14/politics-175483.htm

Illness to keep Billy Graham from inauguration
By Ron Kampeas / Associated Press Writer

Saturday, January 13, 2001

"A registered Democrat, Graham has become almost unique in modern times for his closeness to a succession of presidents from both parties."

[onager]

10. Graham campaigned for $hrub in 2000.

He appeared with him and burped up some cutesy BS like: "I can't directly endorse anyone." Wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

If that old gasbag is a Dem, I'll be VERY surprised. And if so, he's a Zell Miller type Dem.

For Crum's sake, Graham was one of Dick Nixon's good buddies. He was caught on Nixon's taping system making blatantly anti-Semitic remarks. And Graham's credibility took a big hit when he openly supported Nixon not long before Watergate.

Graham has been associated with the Right for his entire career. Ever since the Hearst newspapers launched his career, back during the McCarthy era.

[lancdem]

11. I don't remember him campaigning for anyone in 2000

I did know he was a friend of Nixon's.

[onager]

13. More on "Democrat" Billy Grab'em...

From Campaign 2000: Bush started his day Sunday with church services and a prayer breakfast in Jacksonsville, Fla., where he picked up support from the Rev. Billy Graham. The evangelist, a longtime friend of the Bush family, does not endorse politicians, but he left no doubt about his choice this year.

“I believe in the integrity of this man. I've known him as a boy, I've known him as a young man,” Graham said. “I'm very thankful for the privilege of calling him friend, and his wife.”

http://www.abilene2000.com/elec/bush1106.html

Billy Graham, a close friend of the Bushes for 25 years, says he believes their faith is "strong and genuine." Graham explained, "I've had prayer with him ($hrub) many times and discussed spiritual things with his whole family on a number of occasions."

http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0150_Prayer_in_Bush_Admin.html

On a weekend retreat to the Bush’s mansion in Kennebunkport, George Bush met one of the scariest men to ever live: Billy Graham. Billy Graham is infamous for his anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic remarks throughout the years, yet he’s still a friend of the Bushes. Really give you faith in the administration, doesn’t it? At this point in his life, Dubya was getting bored of the old drugs like cocaine and vodka; he needed something new. He needed religion. So Billy Graham began the brainwashing process, something that’s easy with a near retarded drunkard. After a few weeks George was a good old fashion born again Christian.

http://www.ihatepatrobertson.com/archives/2004/11/?offset=4

Graham apparently tried to stop the nomination of a Catholic chaplain in Congress, then lied about it. Or maybe his buddy Hastert was lying:

Background:

Earlier Republican Speaker Hastert and Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey chose Charles Wright, a Presbyterian, to replace retiring House chaplain James Ford, a Lutheran. In doing so, Hastert and Armey ignored nominee Timothy O'Brien, a Catholic priest. O'Brien was chosen by an 18-member bipartisan and bidenominational -- 15 Protestants and three Catholics -- selection committee for House chaplain.

In the House's 200-plus-year history, a Catholic priest has never held the post of chaplain. This is seen as a glaring omission in a country and a Congress where Catholics outnumber every other religious denomination.

In acting against the committee, the Hastert-Armey snub of O'Brien brought charges of anti-Catholic bigotry, and the charges came from Republican members as well as Democrats. Ever since, Hastert and Armey have been flailing about for political cover. Last week they thought they had it. Hastert put out to the press that Reverend Billy Graham telephoned him and allegedly told Hastert to stand firm by his chaplain choice -- i.e., forget Catholic O'Brien, stay with Presbyterian Wright for the $138,000-a-year chaplaincy position.

Then within 24 hours, Graham himself surfaced in his own news release, personally repudiating Hastert, quote: "I cannot and did not take a position concerning the choice of the new chaplain for the House of Representatives. I stressed to Speaker Hastert, 'I cannot and will not get involved on either side of this issue'" -- unquote.

Now this week, we have a new headline on Capitol Hill, a retraction, "Hastert Changes Graham Account." Recanting, the Republican speaker now says Graham was asking for information about the selection process, all of which mendacity has led the president of the Catholic League, William Donohue, to declare, quote: "The Republicans have built a house of lies. This latest fiasco is only one chapter in a book of lies that the Republicans have written on this subject" -- unquote.

http://www.mclaughlin.com/library/transcript.asp?id=133

[Zhade]

88. That we even have a House chaplain blows my mind.

It's such a huge violation of SoCaS.

[Cha]

16. Here's another one..

Snip~
"Well, I've been a Democrat all of my life. So, I can identify with those in the blue states. But, they'll come out of this eventually," said Reverend Graham soothing the hurt felt by many of his blue brethren."


http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/trailmix/archives/000239.html

I figured he was a repub since bush was making such a deal about him..

Bless Graham heart..I had him all wrong!

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Can't believe he gave Hillary a boost -- THAT...

should get some "Religious" Right heads spinning!

[lancdem]

7. He doesn't give a flying fig what they say

BTW, I saw a photo of two young people from that wacko church in Kansas holding up protest signs outside the revival saying "God hates fags." What is wrong with these people??!!

[Cha]

18. We should counter with..

:patriot:GOD LOVES FAGS AND EVERY LIVING CREATURE..EVEN YOU, ASSHOLE!:patriot:

[Pirate Smile]

20. A little wake up call to the evangelical Christians who think that means

they have to be Republicans. WRONG.

Nominated.

This is pretty interesting.

The bad news is that I don't think BG's son is quite up to the old man - and he seems to be trying to take the same role over.

[DrZeeLit]

26. Mmmm. Keep your eye on BG DAUGHTER...she's the one... with

more charisma and spirituality than any of the other members of the family.
Quite some interesting stuff in that family.

[wildeyed]

53. Reading a biography of MLK,

I found out that Graham also mentored MLK early in his meteoric rise to fame. Graham helped MLK learn how to preach in the large areas to huge groups.

[Island Blue]

6. I thought I heard a loud noise.

It must have been the sound of fundies heads exploding. How long before someone (say Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell) criticizes Billy Graham publicly and blames him for 9/11?

I respect Mr. Graham. I think when called upon to do so, he has given counsel to Presidents without regard for party membership.

[tsuki]

8. Robertson, I don't know how long, but Falwell will have to ask

the Rev. Moon's permission first.

[journalist3072]

12. What a wonderful article.....

I really enjoyed reading it. I must say though, that I'm a little surprised at Graham. I always assumed he was a Republican. I wonder why some of his beliefs didn't rub off on his son.

[stevans_41902]

14. Is it true that Graham said that 9-11 happened b/c people in the US

didn't allow prayer in school, or something along those lines? I got a chain email that said that and was wondering if it were true.

[Hekate]

19. It was Falwell and Robertson (gag, p'tui)

Within two days of 9-11 they got up on TV together and told the faithful that 9-11 was God's judgment on the US for tolerating gays and the like.

I was glued to CNN at the time (weren't we all) and caught it on the crawl at the bottom of the screen. I was so aghast that I wrote down what I could remember, and then waited until it came around again an hour later. I can't find it now, but I sure remember it.

I can confidently say that I do not believe in THEIR god.

Hekate

[onager]

17. His beliefs did rub off. Franklin Graham is a narrow-minded bigot, too.

This "wonderful" article is exactly the kind of hagiographic crap we've come to expect from the media these days. Graham has let his mask slip a number of times. Just do some googling.

The "endorsement" is pretty funny. Graham is one of the world's biggest brown-nosers of powerful people, and when he's around them, he tells them exactly what they want to hear. No surprise at all here.

And it wouldn't be surprising to me if he denies ever saying this, next time he's visiting the Bush family at Kennebunkport.

[mitchum]

34. Thank you for injecting some much needed truth into this thread

I can't believe so many people on this board are taken in by that huckster.

[Straight Shooter]

36. I'll second that.

I'll go so far as to say amen. ;)

[TankLV]

72. Me too. I'm very disappointed in Clinton - this is just one of many.

But I guess sucking up to a bigoted hateful venial preacher is not so bad anymore.

Sigh.

The world would have been better off if Graham and his ilk were not born - of that I'm certain.

The only thing good about this is that it is probably causing shit fits in all the wacko right wing fundies out there.

For that, it's simply priceless!

So, on further reflection, maybe this was another masterful stroke by the MASTER.

From the reports in repuke/freeperland - it sure looks like this has thrown a monkey wrench into the repukes stranglehold on "RELIGION"!

[antigone382]

84. Funny he's endorsing a Woman

when he refused to let the most charismatic speaker in the family (Anne, I believe) become a preacher (his own denomination disallows this) AND he refused to allow Ruth, another daughter, to become a teacher. She had to get married to a "godly man" ( who divorced her) and start spittin' out babies or Jeebus would curse their family or something.

Sad dynamics in that bunch.

[Zhade]

89. Hello, look at what he does.

He's a born(-again) huckster.

[salin]

15. A story to really irk jr.

Between Poppy and Bill becoming friends and traveling buddies - and this - a spotlight with Graham at Graham's last huge public revival... jr must be irritable.

[VegasWolf]

21. Yes, it's enough to drive jr back to drinking and coke. nt

[vickie]

23. I hope there is video of Graham praising the Clintons in NY.

The sanctimonious, hypocritical heads of right wingers will be spinning and exploding simultaneously!

[DeepModem Mom]

24. Oh, wow, I hope so, too. nt

[PartyPooper]

25. I hope they use a non-stop video of this accolade in 2008 for Hillary!

You're right, the sanctimonious, hypocritical heads of right wingers will be spinning and exploding simulatneously.

And, isn't it about time?

:D

:hi:

[Erika]

27. Yes Graham Sr. is a democrat. Franklin is the stuffy one

Billy Graham in his own way endorsed the democrats today.

As he gets closer to death, I think he knows how out of touch today's Republicans have become with the needs and desires of the average American.

[Zhade]

90. Franklin's a little more than "stuffy". He's an uneducated bigot.

He called Islam "evil". Not that I groove on religion - it's all fairy tales to me - but that was just disgusting.

[gauguin57]

28. Here's the sound of freeper heads exploding

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430778/posts

[Erika]

29. The most respected American evangelist praises the Clintons!

I hope a lot of the GOP blind are finally having their eyes opened to the very decadence which has become the core of the new GOP party.

[Blue_In_AK]

30. Whoa, did they call Hillary HITLER?

I thought that kind of talk was off limits. :sarcasm:

[Erika]

31. Billy Graham honored the Clinton's tonight.

And he is a Christian and a man of God. Maybe, the Bushies will look again at what is really considered Christian. Decimating a third world country, killing its innocents, killing our own based on erroneous information leaves many questions. Draining our budget for warring at the cost of our own needy is yet another concern.

Maybe this is why Billy Graham calls himself a democrat.

[buff2]

39. I can only imagine how God feels about these phoney freeptard "christians"

I read quite a few of their posts....true christian Bible believing people DO NOT talk about others the way they do. Can you imagine Billy Graham getting up in front of a pulpit and calling people names and wishing bad things to happen to them? Hell is going to be packed with those hate filled twisted minded people.It's like all of them are possessed. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if those people were into satanism....performing rituals on animals pretending it's Bill and Hillary. Sick,sick people. I hope I NEVER get anywhere near the likes of them. :puke: :scared:

[Erika]

45. Fantastic post

They are out there and they scare me also. The new face of the theocratic GOP.

[TankLV]

73. Unfortunatley, they're all around us - and teaching at the Air Force

Academy!

[Zhade]

91. No, he just says anti-Semitic things on tape...

...in Nixon's office.

[davidinalameda]

42. LOL

poor Freepers

[NashVegas]

57. OMG! Hysterical Quote

It won't fool the evangelical voters. They know who and what Clinton is. They know a revival isn't about social justice. It just shows how clueless the Clintons are to think that what you talk about in church is racism and politics. That's what they talk about in "liberal" churches -the heck with Jesus.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

61. Surprisingly, there were a couple of posts amid the babbling

that gingerly brought up the basic tenets of Christianity that Graham references; forgiveness and caring for your fellow man.

They were drowned out, but it was nice to see a couple of so called Christians actually speak to that message. MKJ

[bobbieinok]

32. from another thread on Graham

his crusades--he had to be invited and lined up churches to do follow up

he played golf or socialized with many presidents

he was 'burned' by Nixon and, I think, refused to get so close to any other president

when Swaggert and Baker were going down, there was a book by a Rice sociology prof that said Graham was always very careful in his dealings with women to avoid any possibility of scandal

Graham spoke at the dedication of Oral Roberts Univ in the late 60s

he was the main speaker at the 1995 nationally televised memorial service for the victims of the OKC bombing.....pretty generic and comforting message as I recall

very much unlike his son's sermon for the Columbine victims....a sermon that apparently angered many in CO

IMO, Franklin can be partly explained by the apparent need of young men to differentiate themselves clearly from their fathers

Graham started his crusades about the time I was in hi school....don't remember watching many.....2 things I remember---him holding the Bible in one hand and saying 'the Bible says....' and George Beverly Shea singing How Great Thou Art

T

[Blue_In_AK]

51. I attended a Billy Graham crusade at the Astrodome

in 1964 or so with a friend. While I wasn't moved to "come forward and be saved," he was indeed a powerful speaker and spoke only of God's love. He certainly didn't leave me feeling slimed like so many of these other "evangelists" do.

[mitchum]

33. Last revival my ass! That fucker has "retired" more times than...

Frank Sinatra and David Bowie combined. Billy Graham is the grifter who cried wolf. Nice hair, though.

[Erika]

37. Billy Graham is 86

He suffers from prostate cancer and may other conditions.

Yet he still gives Christian sermons. And I'm so glad he's a democrat!

[autorank]

35. "There's a sucker born every minute." PT Barnum, Great American

:puke:

[Erika]

38. What does your post refer to? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

40. It probably refers to the narcotic qualities of religion...

particularly the one peddled by snake oil salesmen on their relgious TV channels and their crusades.

I still liked this:

Graham called the Clintons "wonderful friends" and "a great couple," quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow "his wife to run the country."

And Big Dog's remarks about Billy Graham refusing to preach to a segregated audience, a true story I may add, put Graham at odds with the typical Southern white preachers of that day. Even now, in 2005, Sunday remains the most segregated day of the week in America.

[Erika]

41. Billy Graham was respected by the world for his sermons

and the world will be looking at his support for democrats. He came out strong and clear that he is a democrat.

[mitchum]

43. Uh, if he is "at death's door", just how is he going to be campaigning...

for Democrats? I know that you want to think the best of him (and that is to your credit), but he is a Zell Miller "Democrat" The man just has too long a history of red-baiting, professional and personal coziness with repubs, and anti-semitism for one to draw any other conclusion.

[Erika]

44. Graham supported the Clintons 100%

Especially Hillary to "run the country".

I didn't hear him mention some Zell once.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Erika]

47. Let Hilliary run the country as Graham stated

Billy Graham is a true democrat.

[mitchum]

65. SEE POST #13 ABOVE FOR MORE ABOUT "DEMOCRAT" GRAHAM

he's just a huckster

[Zhade]

93. Uh, no thanks.

Besides, I thought we did elections, not coronations.

(I mean, we don't even really do ELECTIONS anymore, but you know my point.)

[Name removed]

66. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mitchum]

71. Uh, I DID check the rules...

and could not find where my originally deleted post violated them. Is this the result of a hair trigger mod? Or a a particularly touchy member?
An explanation would be welcome. My in box does work, y'know...

[Zhade]

92. And he's an anti-Semite who hung out with Nixon and endorsed * in 2000.

He's not the man the media's trying to whitewash him as.

[autorank]

48. Graham & his cohorts believe that I will suffer for eternity...

...because I don't accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior. Isn't that an interesting concept. I was baptized and confirmed in a church, I don't really believe the dogma any more, and my preferred Jesus is from the Gospel of Thomas. Thus, I've not accepted the Graham version of Jesus and, you've got it, I'm going to suffer forever in Hell, roasting over an open fire.

Now, I happen to think that entire load of crap is just that, bullshit perpetrated by small minds who have a large reservoir of hate that is expressed through religion to gain acceptability.

If I was forced to choose between redemption through accepting Jesus as my personal savior or redemption through good works and accepting Jesus, I'd take "good works." Actually, I believe that our reward is moment to moment here based on our behavior, good works. With out positive effort, our life is Hell; and we join crack pot, hate-filled religions to make sure that others are so distracted by our ugly dogma, they fail to notice that we don't even come close to living out the words of our claimed savior. Pathetic, gross, ironic, and anti-human.

So, you ask me to like Graham (either of them) when they and their pals tell me that my entire family will be tortured in extremis forever and my response is: are you fucking kidding?

Any body that falls for Graham, Robertson, Falwell, or the local holier than thou hypocrite of any dogma is "a sucker" and they seem to be "born every minute" at the rate of religious stupidity evident in the daily news.

[Erika]

49. Franklin Graham said that, not Billy Graham

Get your facts straight. Franklin has aligned himself with the far right. Billy Graham is a democrat.

[autorank]

50. Here are the facts. They say I'm going to Hell, you too maybe.

The Baptist Faith and Message
http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp

IV. Salvation

B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

Salvation = "repent and believe in Christ."

X. Last Things

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Righteousness = belief in Christ = Heaven
Unrighteous = consigned to Hell

So it doesn't matter whose a Democrat and whose a Republican if you believe in this doctrine (and it's no different from the other Protestant and Catholic doctrine), then you think that those who to not believe in Christ Will go to Hell.

I don't believe it for one minute but I do find offensive that supposedly pious people, tell me I'm going to Hell.

[Zhade]

94. Fantastic post.

Btw, people, it's not bashing to criticize a hustler like Graham, so don't bother trying to play that card.

[onager]

77. Barnum was an optimist

:hi:

The sucker birth rate must be MUCH higher, given all the gushing in here over that Fundie power-groupie Billy Graham.

[autorank]

81. Amen sould brother!!!

:hi:

[Vickers]

54. I don't trust him...if anything, this reminds me of Lee Atwater's deathbed

regrets about all the slimy shit he did for the Republicans in the 80s.

[mitchum]

64. And you are correct

[Sopianae]

78. We don't need to trust him.

Just enjoy the heads exploding in freeperville. It is a great development for Democrats.

[Zhade]

95. It's not great - Dems are falling for the whitewash.

Exploding freeper heads aren't worth accepting the whitewashing of a guy like Graham. He's not Robertson or Falwell, but he isn't Wallis either.

[shadowknows69]

55. Now I'm convinced

that I don't want a Clinton anywhere near the WH again. Chelsea maybe.

[mitchum]

67. That makes two of us

[TankLV]

74. There are more of "us" than you can imagine.

But I still get a strange wisfull longing for the "good old days" every time I think of them.

God how I wish that the bushes were never born.

And to think our priest lost his only 2 sons in WWII and these scum still plague the earth!

[mitchum]

76. Good! That is very encouraging news

and I also agree with you about the strangeness of longing for the "good old days" of people who are essentially Rockefeller republicans in Democratic drag :)

[truthisfreedom]

56. bush... born again, or not?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6115719/

Bush — born again, or not?
The president has never clarified his conversion narrative

By Alex Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 6:57 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2004
Any discussion of President Bush’s presumed evangelicalism is complicated. Evangelicalism is a style of worship, not a set of beliefs, and to a large extent evangelical Protestants are defined by their personal stories of faith and by whom they choose as their pastor. But core to many evangelicals’ identity is the “born-again” experience described in John 3:3, when a sinner undergoes an intense conversion during a personal interaction with the Holy Spirit, often Jesus Himself. George Bush has not said directly that he was ever born again. He has often said he was pointed on the path to God after a discussion with evangelist Billy Graham in 1985.

“Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year,” Bush wrote in his 1999 campaign autobiography, “A Charge to Keep.”
<snip>

There is a second story about how Bush started on the road to salvation, one that is more in line with the common narrative. While Bush has never confirmed it, he has also never contradicted it, nor has he apparently sought to reconcile the two accounts.

Evangelist Arthur Blessitt, best known for carrying a 12-foot cross around the world, writes that in 1984, Bush asked to see him and told him: “Arthur, I did not feel comfortable attending the meeting, but I want talk to you about how to know Jesus Christ and how to follow Him.”
The two men and an aide prayed together and discussed salvation, Blessitt says in a long article on his Web site, which comes complete with photographs of Bush and Blessitt together and of personal, handwritten notes Bush wrote to him as late as 1998.
“It was an awesome and glorious moment!” Blessitt writes. “We were just three brothers rejoicing in Christ. I said ‘There is rejoicing in Heaven now! You are saved!’
Bush does not mention the episode in his autobiography. The Republican National Committee, however, approved the screening of a film, “George W. Bush: Faith in the White House,” at off-the-floor events during its national convention this month in New York; the film recounts the story and implies that Bush’s meeting with Blessitt was the true beginning of his spiritual rebirth.
<snip>

[DeepModem Mom]

58. Thanks for posting this re. the mythology of Bush's Graham conversion --

It was in my mind last night, but it was late, and I was too sleepy to search it out then. As you report, it was a Reverend Blessitt, who "was best known for carrying a 12-foot cross around the world," if anyone, who assisted in Bush's rebirth.

[DeepModem Mom]

59. ALERT, GUYS: THIS LINK NOW LINKS TO A DIFFERENT ARTICLE --

What's up with that?

[DeepModem Mom]

60. HERE IS A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE, IN THE UK GUARDIAN --

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5099036,00.html

[mitchum]

68. Well, Fred Phelps and Lyndon Larouche also identify themselves...

as "Democrats"
For what that's worth...

[DeepModem Mom]

69. CNN is showing tape of Graham's remarks -- the article left out...

that the reason he encouraged Clinton to become an evangelist was "because he has all the gifts," and Graham did indeed then say that Clinton should leave his wife "to run the country."

[Algorem]

70. That cracker Graham's getting soft and milky.

[Trajan]

75. As an atheist and secular humanist ...

I appreciate at least the impression of kindness and brotherhood offered by Graham to the Clintons .... Even just the impression is a step in the right direction for mankind ....

As much as I disagree with Graham and his cohorts: I shant be crucifying him ..... As much as I dislike RW hatred, I am learning to dislike LW hatred as well ....

Hatred is a negative and unbecoming state of mind ... It distorts our sensibilities and leads us astray, time and time again ...

Hatred is what we see in our opposition, and is one of the primary reasons we oppose them ....

Dont co-opt that hatred and embrace it .... REJECT it ....

I will disagree with RWer's and theocrats ... I will STRONGLY disagree with RWer's and theocrats ... But I will not hate them ....

Life is too short to let hatred rule your psyche ....

Free yourself .....

[Zhade]

96. It's not hatred to point out the truth about Graham.

NT!

[CTyankee]

79. Graham also said he could understand women

falling for Bill Clinton. This happened during the impeachment of Clinton. Graham said he understood Bill's attraction to women because BC was a very attractive guy. I was astounded when I read that.

[Placebo]

80. Any support is welcome.

Hillary '08

[ArnoldLayne]

82. The NeoCon Republicans and Freepers heads

must be exploding about now, I can't help it but I love it. :rofl:

[Fritz67]

83. Amazingly enough...

The local paper, the Indianapolis Star, which used to be run by Dan Quayle's family, ran the article this morning, with the comments about Graham's praise of the Clintons intact.

I hate to say it, but looks like Gannett is doing some good for it after all.

[DeepModem Mom]

86. Thanks, Fritz67 -- and welcome to DU!

[Zhade]

87. Wow.

Just...wow.

[tweets]

97. Some Fundies Upset With Graham

"National Clergy Council president Rev. Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK) walked out on his role model Billy Graham after the evangelist surrendered his microphone to Bill Clinton on the third night of his New York City crusade, then gave a veiled endorsement to Senator Hillary Clinton who was sitting nearby on stage.

According to the Associated Press, when Bill Clinton joined him on stage, Graham "quipp that the former president should become an evangelist and allow 'his wife to run the country.'"Rev. Schenck has considered Billy Graham his role model for over 25 years. That's why the Capitol Hill minister traveled from Washington, DC, to New York City this weekend to witness what may be the ailing evangelist's last crusade. But after he saw the Clintons exploit the aging Graham, he couldn't bear to stay and hear him preach.

"I was stunned and appalled," said Schenck, who left the Flushing Meadows Park as Graham was still complimenting the Clintons. "This was a deliberate, cunning, purely political move by the Clintons to divide the Evangelical vote and assure Hillary of a victory in '08," said Schenck, a minister with the Evangelical Church Alliance and a missionary to elected officials. http://www.dakotavoice.com/200506/20050626_1.asp
 

[DeepModem Mom]

98. Oh, my Lord, so to speak -- the Rev. Schenck walked out!

Thanks for posting this, tweets -- and welcome to DU!!!