...because it makes good press. He's never actually STATED this...he just doesn't "correct" people when they make the assumption.
Though he was always somewhat religious, Bush said, a turning point came in a private talk with the Rev. Billy Graham along the coast of Maine in 1985. Graham's words planted the "mustard seed in my soul" that eventually led to a decision to "recommit my heart to Jesus Christ," he wrote. In addition to being a Bush family friend, Graham is a widely admired Baptist evangelist who has counseled many presidents, and his frequently cited role in Bush's journey of faith adds to its ecumenical air. But from the point of view of some evangelical Christians, this story has a basic flaw: It lacks the drama of a single moment when Bush accepted Jesus as his savior, a true born-again experience.
The second account of Bush's conversion is contained in two new books about his faith. Both say that more than a year before the seaside chat with Graham, Bush requested a meeting with
Arthur Blessitt,
an eccentric evangelist known for dragging a 12-foot cross around the world. David Aikman, author of "A Man of Faith," who confirmed his account with presidential adviser Karl Rove, said Bush and Blessitt sat at a table in the empty Holidome restaurant of a West Texas Holiday Inn. Blessitt's Web site says the following exchange took place:
"If you died this moment, do you have the assurance you would go to heaven?" Blessitt asked. "No," Bush replied. "Then let me explain to you how you can have that assurance and know for sure that you are saved," Blessitt said. "I'd like that," Bush said.
That conversation, which Blessitt's Web site says ended with the two men holding hands and praying for Bush's salvation, sounds much more like a born-again experience than Bush's celebrated talk with Graham. But Bush made no mention of it in his autobiography, and has not discussed it since.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24634-2004Sep15?language=printer