A Political Pastor’s Penitence: Graham Wishes He Hadn’t Been So
Close To Power After All  The mixing of church and state can cut
both ways; sometimes religious leaders and the churches they
lead are corrupted by political leaders.  There is a myth about
the famous evangelist Billy Graham that goes like this: Graham
was apolitical, a pastor to all presidents, Republican and
Democratic. His main goal was to provide comfort by sharing
faith. He was above politics.  The only problem with this is
that it’s not true. Sure, Graham did pray with presidents from
both parties. But he had a bad habit of interjecting himself
into right-wing politics. He often took ultra-conservative
stands and during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon became a
type of informal White House advisor.  As Nixon prepared to face
U.S. Sen. George McGovern in November of 1972, Graham fired off
memos that sounded like something you’d get from a seasoned
political operative.   Not long after that, McGovern’s running
mate, Sargent Shriver, called