In the book “The Preacher and the Presidents,” TIME veterans Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy write:
His critics called him gullible, naive to the point of self-delusion; his defenders, of whom there were a great many more, called him trusting, always seeing the best in powerful people and often eliciting it as a result. Where both agreed was that his agenda – to spread the gospel of redeeming love – applied as much to his Oval Office ministry as to his global one. “I think at times they turn to things that are far beyond them,” he said, referring to the occupants of the White House, “and they have nowhere else to go.”
