McALESTER, Okla. -- Carl Albert, who rose from the poverty of Oklahoma's coal country to become speaker of the House of Representatives and twice found himself next in line to the presidency, has died. He was 91.
Albert, who had been in frail health for years, died Friday night at McAlester Regional Health Center.Albert spent 30 years representing Oklahoma's 3rd District. He became Democratic majority leader in 1962 and speaker in 1971. He retired in 1976.
The 5-foot-4 1/2 Albert became known as the "Little Giant from Little Dixie," a reference to the Democratic stronghold in southeastern Oklahoma that he served.
"From early on, everything I did was calculated to being elected to Congress," he said during a 1985 Associated Press interview.
His journey took him from tiny Bugtussle in southeastern Oklahoma to Washington and back.
Albert was a Democratic leader in Congress at a time when one president was felled by an assassin, John Kennedy in 1963; another chose to forgo a re-election campaign because of an unpopular war, Lyndon Johnson in 1968; and a third resigned the presidency under threat of impeachment, Richard Nixon in 1974.
Twice, Albert stood next in line of succession to the presidency. The first time was when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in Albert's office in 1973 after pleading no contest to accusations he took kickbacks. Albert recommended to President Richard M. Nixon that he choose Gerald Ford to replace Agnew. The second time came the following year, when Ford became president when Nixon resigned.
"One death or another resignation would have done it," Albert said.
During his years as House speaker, Albert's support of policies of the national Democratic leadership sometimes differed with the views of his constituents.
"I very much dislike doctrinaire liberals -- they want to own your minds," he said. "And I don't like reactionary conservatives. I like to face issues in terms of conditions and not in terms of someone's inborn political philosophy."
Albert opposed civil rights bills in 1956 and 1957, but he became a strong supporter during the Johnson years and played a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"While he occupied one of the highest offices in our country, he never compromised his personal integrity or forgot where he came from," said David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma and a former Oklahoma governor and senator. "Above all, he will be remembered for his effort to give every child, without regard to race, gender or economic circumstance, an equal chance to succeed."
President Clinton lauded Albert as "a true statesman" and said "he played an invaluable role crafting the greatest effort America has ever launched against poverty."
Albert is survived by his wife Mary, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister and four grandchildren.