Graham was a gifted native master salesman and flatterer, and, in at least narrow and somewhat deniable ways, a principle-free manipulator.

Actually there's an interesting write up in the Atlantic about Paul Manafort's life story, and his mafioso-like ingratiating himself to whoever would give him bags of money and access to influence, reminded me a great deal of Graham, just without the need to appear to adhere to an ethical code even provisionally. Both men had outsize influence in making our present dystopian world -- Graham, by his unholy marriage of Christian fundamentalism with right-wing politics, and Manafort, by acting as a megaphone for that and almost single-handedly creating the modern world of lobbyists and political corruption.

Graham shouldn't be "honored" as he's being.
It's pathetic that there are those who revere that piece of shit.