海角大神

World War II was barely over when Godfrey Sperling Jr. reported for聽work at 海角大神, still wearing his uniform as an聽Army Air Corps major.

Although he was a lawyer and held a degree in journalism, Mr.聽Sperling鈥檚 first assignment was to go door to door in the Boston area聽for the circulation sales department. No matter. He loved the聽Monitor and the church that publishes it and wanted to help any way he聽could.

So began a remarkable 59-year journalism career. By the time Sperling聽wrote his last column in 2005, he was one of the best-known print聽journalists in the nation鈥檚 capital. He passed on Sept. 11.

Along the way, Sperling, known by his childhood nickname of 鈥淏udge,鈥澛爏erved as chief of the Monitor鈥檚 Chicago, New York, and Washington聽news bureaus. With a passion for politics, he covered 24 political聽conventions and interviewed numerous presidents and would-be聽presidents, starting with John F. Kennedy aboard his campaign plane,聽the Caroline. He was in the TV studio for one of the Nixon-Kennedy聽debates.

Gregarious by nature, Budge traveled widely, chatting up local and聽state officials, digging for fresh political insights and building聽relationships. Since he was viewed as a relentlessly nonpartisan聽reporter, during Watergate Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater sometimes would speak bluntly to Budge about President Nixon, sending聽the White House a message.

But for all of his reporting, Budge was best known as the host of聽Monitor breakfasts, a forum where Washington reporters gather to聽interview a public figure in a civilized, comprehensive way. Sperling聽launched the sessions in 1966 and hosted 3,241 of the gatherings over聽a 35-year span. Guests included Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan and聽Clinton along with five vice presidents and countless cabinet and congressional officials.

When Sperling retired as host in 2001, The Washington Post called the聽breakfast venue he created, 鈥渙ne of Washington鈥檚 premier journalistic聽forums.鈥�

Budge both reveled in the attention the breakfasts brought him and was聽bemused by it. 聽鈥淚f anyone had said to me, the thing you will be聽remembered for is your breakfast group, I would have gone into another聽career, 鈥� he wrote in a column in 2002. 鈥淎 breakfast group?鈥�

Sperling brought to the sometimes-daunting task of lining up聽high-level breakfast guests the same relentless, highly competitive聽approach that characterized his reporting. While not the Monitor鈥檚聽most elegant writer, no one in the bureau out-hustled Budge.

Breakfast critics, of whom there were several, echoed author Nora聽Ephron鈥檚 observation that, 鈥渉ow a politician performs [at a breakfast]聽does not prove anything except for his ability to hornswoggle聽journalists and pay his respects to their egos.鈥�

But it was not quite as simple as that. Budge was adept at ferreting聽out information by putting guests at ease with sometimes rambling聽questions. When he retired as moderator, The New York Times observed聽Sperling鈥檚 gentle questioning was 鈥渁 centerpiece of the atmosphere in聽which politicians were made to feel comfortable. Sometimes too聽comfortable.鈥�

For example, at a 1967 breakfast, Michigan Gov. George Romney harmed his聽chances for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination by telling聽breakfast attendees that he had been 鈥渂rainwashed鈥� about US policy in聽Vietnam. And at a November 1993 breakfast, Republican consultant Ed聽Rollins revealed that he had distributed walking around money to聽suppress the black vote in the election for governor of New Jersey.

Outlasting many critics, Sperling came to be feted frequently. In聽1987, his beloved University of Illinois gave him its Alumni聽Achievement Award. In September 1995, President Bill Clinton hosted a聽luncheon for Budge and the breakfast group in the State Dining Room to聽mark Budge's 80th birthday. In 2002, the Monitor established a journalism聽fellowship in his name at the University of Illinois College of聽Communications.

The honors kept on coming. In October 2008, the 93-year-old Sperling聽returned to the university to be inducted into the Illini Media Hall聽of Fame. His student host, Andrew Mason, wrote about the experience聽saying, 鈥淚 got to see a legend.鈥�

One of Budge鈥檚 greatest joys was membership in the Gridiron Club, a聽group of Washington journalists who put on an annual dinner where they聽sing satirical songs for the president. By his own admission,聽Sperling did not have much of a singing voice, but he enjoyed the聽club鈥檚 camaraderie.聽His favorite Gridiron moment came in 1981, when he invited Hollywood聽dance legend Ginger Rogers to be his guest at the white tie dinner.聽Budge said that when he picked her up at the hotel, she appeared in聽鈥渂lack chiffon and ostrich feathers 鈥� just like I had expected.鈥�

While devoted to Betty, his wife of 70 years, Budge聽admitted that, 鈥淚 shall always remember what I often refer to as 鈥榤y聽walk with Ginger.鈥� That鈥檚 when she took my arm and we walked from her聽hotel suite down to the hall packed with Gridiron invitees waiting to聽go into the big ballroom.鈥�

It was, Budge wrote revealingly, 鈥渁 heady moment for a small-town boy聽from the Midwest.鈥�