McCain meets Graham but no cigar?

(Photo by the Associated Press)

Yesterday, June 29, John McCain held a meeting with Billy Graham and his son Franklin in Montreat, North Carolina. Supposedly McCain thought he would be meeting only with Franklin due to Billy's declining health, but Billy was surprisingly present.

McCain said they had "a very excellent conversation." He also said it wasn't about obtaining their endorsements. He left still not knowing, he claimed, if the Grahams would vote for him. "I didn't ask for their votes." McCain praised them as "great leaders."


There's a story behind the story. On June 9, a blogger connected with the Dallas Morning News wrote that the McCain campaign was trying to arrange a meeting between McCain and Billy Graham. Reportedly, McCain "had turned down such a meeting." That was not true, said the McCain campaign. They were, in fact, "dealing directly with Franklin Graham to make it [a meeting with Billy] happen."

Here's the story behind that. Doug Wead, a former religious liaison with the Bushites, along with a Fort Worth minister by name of Brian Jacobs, had "been trying to broker a meeting between McCain and Graham.

"In a letter to Jacobs, the McCain camp said it appreciates the offer. 'Unfortunately, I must pass along our regrets and do not foresee an opportunity to add this event to our calendar.'"

McCain's inability to "foresee an opportunity" to sit down with Billy Graham did not sit well with the so-called "evangelicals."


MotherJones contacted "Billy Graham's PR shop" and received the following statement from Larry Ross, Billy Graham's "director of media and public relations."

"It would be highly unusual and out of character for Mr. Graham to initiate such a meeting, and there has been no contact between the McCain campaign and his office. In fact, Mr. Graham has not met or been in contact with any candidates during the current primary process. If he had, it has been his personal policy through the years to avoid partisanship by meeting with representatives from both parties to address spiritual concerns."

Then Ross appended the above statement to note that he had learned of attempts by a couple of people to broker a meeting with Billy Graham, but Billy did not know of it. "Apparently it was their indirect and unofficial involvement that was declined." This is confusing as it sounds like Billy Graham's outfit declined a meeting.

But MotherJones, I think, got it rightt: "...McCain didn't turn down a meeting with Billy Graham. He turned down a meeting brokered by Doug Wead and Brian Jacobs."

Thus, the evangelicals can untie the knots in their shorts.

Or not. The McCain camp "responded elsewhere" by saying, "Our campaign has been working directly with Reverend Franklin Graham's office to facilitate an important meeting between John McCain and Reverend Billy Graham. ..."


When one deals with political types (and this includes the Grahams) one finds that misleading statements are SOP. McCain evidently didn't want to look like he was pandering for Graham's blessing like he did with Hagee and Parsley and Graham's camp didn't want to look like they were easily seduced.

At any rate, the meeting took place, Sunday, the next to last day of June. They talked about how wonderful was McCain's service to his country, and Franklin said "We had an opportunity to pray for the senator and his family, and for God's will to be done in this coming election.""

Prior to this meeting with the Grahams, McCain had previously claimed that it would not be a political meeting, and that the Graham's "transcend politics." Therefore, "there certainly is no political aspect to the meeting that I will have."

Does he expect people to believe that? Has he gotten away with so many lies for so long he just assumes people will believe whatever he says?

And Franklin, who said he would not be endorsing anyone for president, praised McCain's "personal faith and his moral clarity." One cannot help but wonder if Franklin knows the least little thing about John McCain.

Franklin also urged "men and women of faith everywhere" to get out and vote and become active in the political arena. You know, so God's will is done.


Here's a summary of what actually happened: John McCain held a private meeting with Billy Graham and his son, Franklin, the latter having risen into a position of moneyed leadership among Christian fundamentalists the world over.

This was nothing so crass as a "political" meeting. McCain wasn't thinking at all about all those "evangelicals" and others who revere Billy Graham as something of a Protestant saint. McCain would never do that! He would never meet with Billy Graham just to try to wring some votes out of the fundamentalist heartland! Nosirree! He wasn't there for Graham's blessing, he just wanted to talk with the elderly evangelist and his powerful son.

Furthermore, the Grahams didn't endorse him. Again, nothing so crass as saying right out loud that they want McCain to be president rather than that young, black, upstart Barack Obama. All Franklin did was say he was impressed by McCain's "personal faith" (do you hear that, all ye fundys?) and "moral clarity," which surely implies he knows not of McCain's political career! No, Franklin thinks McCain's quite a guy. You might even assume, if you're reading between the lines, that Franklin would like to see McCain ascend to the Oval Office!

So, said Franklin to his fundy followers, "get out and vote" (and you know who to vote for, too! Snicker, snicker!)

Sometimes it's hard to know which group on the whole is more deceitful: religionists or politicians!