Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had an, um, interesting take a few minutes ago on Obama’s health care speech to Congress last night. Appearing on FNC, the GOP Senator called the President’s speech “a disaster” and “combative.”
“If his goal was to try to unite the Democratic Party and the hard left, maybe he succeeded,” Graham said. But what Obama did not do was “create consensus and bring people together.”
Just like Obama’s speech, the public option would be “a disaster,” Graham said, and Obama’s explanation of it is “not credible.”
“I wanna work with Democrats,” he added without any apparent sense of irony. “I want a bipartisan bill.”
Graham said if the Democrats resort to passing health care reform through 51-vote reconciliation, “it’s an admission that you can’t get your own party on board, because they got 60 votes in the Senate.”
And as for his fellow South Carolina lawmaker Rep. Joe Wilson, who shouted “You lie!” in the middle of Obama’s speech? He was wrong to shout, Graham said, and was right to apologize. However, “the President of the United States set the wrong tone,” Graham said. “I quite frankly was offended by the whole tone. I thought it was a partisan pep rally.”
And Wilson’s re-election chances, considering his Democratic opponent has raised more than $100,000 since Wilson’s gaffe last night? “I will do everything I can to help him get reelected,” Graham said. “Democrats are not going to take that seat over.”
Late Update: Here’s the video.
