John McCain meets with Billy Graham and Franklin Graham in North Carolina

John McCain met with Billy Graham and Franklin Graham at Graham's North Carolina home on Sunday. VOA News:

Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain traveled Sunday to North Carolina to meet with evangelist Billy Graham and his son, Franklin Graham.

McCain, who has been trying to attract the support of religious voters, said he had an excellent conversation with the Grahams and was grateful for the opportunity to visit them.

The elder Graham is a world-renowned evangelist who has been in poor health in recent years. His son Franklin is now the president of the evangelistic association his father founded in 1950.

Franklin Graham did not offer an endorsement after the meeting, but said he was impressed with McCain's personal faith and his moral clarity on important social issues.

McCain's Democratic opponent Barack Obama took a day off from the campaign on Sunday.

Franklin Graham said that during the meeting, his father recalled praying with McCain's father during the Vietnam War, while McCain was a prisoner of war.

Secular pundits should not underestimate the importance to evangelical voters of John McCain meeting with a beloved figure like Billy Graham.