Forgetting about Jerry Falwell
When Allen reminded me that I once interviewed Jerry Falwell when I was editorial page editor and published it on the Ideas front, I realized that I had forgotten more stories I did than I remembered.
We sat down in a large ballroom where he would speak later that day. He was nice and engaged, but I didn't ask a single question he didn't have a prepared answer for. And I tried to come up with something that would evoke either news or a revealing answer. As a result, the interview was unfortunately no more revealing than an Associated Press report out of New York.
Still, my favorite interview with a national leader -- and I've had a few -- was with Billy Graham 25 years ago. He was thoughtful, articulate, intelligent and, obviously, charming. The record of it is tucked away in an envelope in the archives of the N&O, where I worked as a religion and, believe it or not, arts reporter. But Graham discussed issues -- rather than lectured on them -- and that made the interview feel different than others, whether it was or not.