Billy Graham would like to meet, pray with Obama

Billy Graham has counseled every American president since Dwight Eisenhower. But the evangelist known for his globe-trotting crusades has no plans to mentor Barack Obama, though his son did say his father would like to meet the president-elect and pray with him.

His son expressed concern about Obama's views on abortion and gay marriage - an issue Franklin Graham raised in a meeting with the Illinois senator - saying that he and is father are conservatives who believe the Bible speaks clearly on those issues.

"President-elect Obama heard our position," said Franklin Graham, who now heads the Charlotte-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. "And I told him that this was very difficult for us and hard for us. It's a moral issue that we just can't back down on."

Obama favors abortion rights, and does not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He supports civil unions and believes states should decide their own laws about marriage.

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