Testimonies

He has a great personality. That's not coming through on TV. If his dad had been a plumber, he still would probably be the greatest personality I met in my life. He disarms people. ... He doesn't like people who think they're 'Big Shots,' to use his terminology. He co-opted my department. I was working for his father in the campaign, 86, 87, 88. He came in and said, "I'm your boss. You report to me now. He took me over. It was coalitions. Dynamic, very decisive. 'Yes.' 'Yes.' 'No.' 'Yes.' 'Yes.' You bring him quick study--the items on your list, and he could make quick decisions--which was a tremendous pleasure. Lots of energy. When you go out on the road with him he wouldn't eat. He wouldn't sleep. He would just work. One radio or television interview after another. When you come home it's like jet lag, you got to rest. Wonderful man of integrity, too. Tremendous integrity.

Wherever he went, Ronald Reagan, always on his desk--whether he was governor or president, was that little statement, "No telling what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care who gets credit for it." George W. lives that philosophy. The object is the bottom line: to get it done. I remember early in our relationship, we were flying around, on the road. It was tough for him. He was the vice president's son then, so I arranged for the Concierges at United Airlines to upgrade us and take care of us. I got on the phone; I said, "Hey, we're going to go through O'Hare today and the vice president's son is traveling, and I want to alert you." And they were glad, of course. That's the guy's job and He wants to know. This guy meets us with a little rose on his lapel at O'Hare at the gate and he escorts us to the red carpet lounge and upgrades our ticket. I could see G. W. was just seething, and finally he sat me down. He said," Wead, what is this?" I said, "Well, this is the guy's job. All the airlines have these little concierge offices, and that's what they do. Congressman's kids, and Senators' children and movie stars..... I'm surprised you don't know about this. You're the vice president's son. They keep them away from the people that would bother them. It's just a courtesy and upgrade their tickets. He said, "Wead, I want you to get this straight. I'm not a big shot. And I got news for you: you're not a big shot either. We just ride coach."

Some people thought he was talking about his faith for political purposes, but the irony of that is George W. Bush--more than any other modern political person- knows very well how deep the antipathy and hatred is towards evangelicals and people of faith. So when he said on national television, they ask him, "Who is your favorite political philosopher?", he said," Christ because he changed my heart." There were people thought he was trying to get votes in Iowa, but I can assure you he knows better and he knows what trouble that would cause for him with many people in our society who just are anti faith of any kind.

He'll be very decisive and very strong during an international crisis, and he'll pray and read his Bible. I don't want to say anything that's private, but this is on public record so I can say it. It was in Newsweek magazine. He spoke of a Bible given to him. He reads that each day. And if you're consuming God's word through Jesus' words and the prophets, God has a chance to speak to you. Through the Proverbs he can talk to you.

In John you have a very level-headed, calm mainstream government political figure. He served as auditor of Missouri. He was elected attorney general of Missouri. He was so popular that in his reelection, in the middle of the Carter landslide when no other republican was elected to office the discriminating voters of Missouri split their vote and reelected Ashcroft overwhelmingly as the attorney general. So he served two terms as attorney general. Then he served two terms as governor of the state of Missouri. He was so popular as governor, he was voted the chairman of the governor's association, Democrat and Republican and very successful as a governor. Then he was elected to the United States Senate. His whole political career, in 16 runs for office he never lost until this recent election when they tried to demonize him. The whole left went after him and picked him out, singled him, announced that they were on national television, announced they were going to target him. He almost won in spite of that. He has been under tremendous, in my opinion, very bigoted attacks because of his religion without foundation.

You know, people who don't have faith or who are troubled going through an experience in their life, they don't want you to have faith either. I remember Lee who I love very much and he came to God in his last few years. He used to hate it because I believed in God. I was an irritant around him. Sometimes we were in a room and I didn't bring the subject up, and he came to me and said see, "I told you. I'm an agnostic. Why did this happen? You tell me a personal God allows this to happen?" He was always doing that. 'I'm an agnostic.' I said, "No you're not." (Once I did this.) I made him mad. I said, "You believe in God." He said, "I don't." I said, "You sure do." He said, "Why do you say that?" "Why would you be angry at somebody that doesn't exist? You're very angry at God." I found out after his death when I read the biography of his life that when he was a little boy, his brother was killed in an accident. I believe coffee or something and it burned his brother and he died. There was some deep hurt there. 'If there's a God why did he allow my brother to die?' That's what he carried. That's where it came from. He's an interesting study. 'My life will begin when I'm 40 years old,' and then he would quote some philosopher. The irony is, he died at 39 and his life didn't begin at 40. It was gone. But the wonderful thing is, when he was struck down. He had cancer and he was in a middle of a speech and he just fainted and they took him out and they found he had cancer. The wonderful thing is, He came to the Lord. He came to love the Bible in his last few months of his life. He made the comment, you know the man taught all men are governed by the same passions, therefore you can anticipate what a person will do in a certain set of circumstances. Intelligence, information. If you know you're enemy and yourself you can win a thousand battles. Intelligence. Information. The Bible has the same things there. Understanding, with all you have get wisdom and no matter what it costs, get understanding. It was this spiritual knowledge. I remember from Lee, ...people are irritated if you have faith. It's not enough that they deny God. It makes them angry that you have faith. I think that's what's brothering people about Ashcroft

Those of us who believe in Christ as our Savior, that shouldn't mean we can't serve in government or that we're disqualified or dirty or contaminated. We have to participate. Those of you who are Christians who say I'm not interested in government or politics, Jesus is going to judge the nations. God looks at nations. God loves nations in the Bible. God hates nations in the Bible. He says I'm against you, to some nations. You can't separate the fact that you're also an American. God sees you as an American. We do have some corporate responsibility. Here's your brother [John Ashcroft] nominated as the attorney general of the United States. That's the immigration and naturalization service. That's the FBI.

Most important to me is Canyonville Christian Academy up in Oregon. ... And Hal, this is a high school founded as an orphanage in 1924 and it's a high school for missionary's kids. We give the missionaries technology and computers and vehicles and airplanes and we give them salaries and build buildings for them, but who takes care of their kids? For 75 years, Canyonville Christian academy. It's a boarding school. We have missionary kids come from all over the world. It's a high school. Sometimes we get a kid whose dad is transferred to Saudi Arabia and he wants to graduate from the United States. Paul and Jan Crouch came up and helped us, they gave their donations for a radio station and in the month of February we go on the air at Canyonville Christian Academy--thanks to the partners of TBN. Your partners should know that Paul and Jan have a generous heart and they bless others. Not just thier own kingdom of any sense they're building but so much to others and it's broke the hearts of the kids. They love it. I'll tell you one story. We had a call from a missionary who said a little girl in Mexico--living in a cave--gave her life to the Lord, and one of the men in the cave from the other families was raping her, and they wanted to get her out of there. They said, "Can you take her?" I said 'we'll take her.' You can't take all of them. The world is filled with heart break. Thanks to Paul and Jan and those partners CCA the little school up there is doing some great things.