ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney
met with Rev. Billy Graham Thursday, making an unscheduled stop
at the 93-year-old evangelist's secluded home in Black Mountain,
N.C., during a campaign swing through the state.  In what was
Romney's first meeting with Graham, the ailing reverend told the
GOP nominee that he had considered his father, George Romney, to
be a friend. Also in attendance was Graham's son, Franklin, whom
Romney met in 2006.  The half-hour discussion was closed to
reporters traveling with Romney, but campaign aides later
provided a list of topics discussed, including "religious
freedom, religious persecution and growth of their ministry in
China, Sudan and North Korea." Additionally, photographers and
television producers were escorted into the residence to capture
the final moments of the meeting.  According to a transcript
provided by NBC News, Romney was discussing his father's death
when the photo op began.   "My mom lived for another year after
that, and then she