Mike Pence's 'Billy Graham rule' has a long, proven history

Back in 2002, then-Representative Mike Pence revealed to The Hill that he follows some of famed evangelist Billy Graham's "rules" for marital life, including never dining alone with a woman other than his wife Karen and not attending events where alcohol is served without her at his side. After these comments resurfaced in a Washington Post profile last week, the Pences found themselves the target of a fierce debate over these rules and their consequences, leading Pence himself to joke about the ballyhoo.

Tuesday on "The Glenn Beck Radio Program," Glenn Beck traced the history of Graham's recommendations, pointing out that Graham initially put the rules — as well as others specific to running a ministry — in place early in his career to combat the poor perception of travelling preachers at the time.  The rules regarding marital fidelity would take on new importance following a string of sexual scandals connected to high-profile televangelists of the '80s and '90s, such as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

"So what is he doing? Now, he's saying this in 1948 when apparently they were having problems with it too. And he said, 'Let's just avoid all appearance,'" Glenn explained. "Well, that's to restore the honor and the integrity of people of the cloth. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"I mean, I can tell you obviously the left has lots of problems with this," Stu Burguiere responded.

Glenn also praised the wisdom of public figures protecting their reputations.

"And it's also to avoid the situation that someone can say something happened in a meeting that didn't happen," said Glenn.

To see more from Glenn, visit his channel on TheBlaze and watch "The Glenn Beck Radio Program" live weekdays 9 a.m.–noon ET or anytime on-demand at TheBlaze TV.