Graham Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Union Leader: Graham and McCain Take Friendship And Shared Campaign Message on the Road

Graham And McCain Take Friendship And Shared Campaign Message On The Road

By Eli Okun

Union Leader

October 11, 2015

Lindsey Graham is smiling. He loves this unheated town hall auditorium, a picturesque little white building with wood-paneled floors and two dozen residents on folding chairs.

"You have a piece of heaven," he says. "If I wanted to show somebody what New England looks like, I would pick right here."

The South Carolina senator and Republican presidential candidate is telling the truth — he loves campaigning in New Hampshire. But after thanking his host, the pleasantries are over.

He launches into his life story: growing up in a small town in South Carolina and raising his younger sister after both their parents died by the time he was 22. He stresses foreign policy and national security, sacrifice and safety.

Unlike other candidates, he does not say "yes, but" when he disagrees with an audience member. He says no.

With a Sunday News reporter tagging along for the day Saturday, Graham and Sen. John McCain of Arizona offered up Graham's message and enjoyed each other's company and conversation through meals, car rides and a long campaign schedule.

For Graham, McCain is not only a political adviser but a close friend. "Hard to find real friendship in this business," Graham remarks.

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Graham's campaign...is firmly focused on the future. McCain likes to note that New Hampshire residents have a tendency to wait until the last moment to make up their minds. Graham will be more than happy, he reasons, to hit the road, make his case again and again across the state, and wait for all the shooting stars to flame out.

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Throughout the day, McCain clearly delights in his old stomping grounds. And Graham loves having him around.

One moment, McCain is making fun of Graham's accent or Graham of McCain's age. The next, McCain is pointing to a New York Times article about the Obama administration abandoning efforts to train Syrians against the Islamic State. He reads out the sub-headline in disgust: "Admission of failure."

"Obama's incompetent and (Secretary of State John) Kerry's delusional is our two biggest problems," Graham says...

The friends have forged a deep bond as fellow veterans and foreign policy wonks who have journeyed to the Middle East year after year to visit troops and talk military strategy.

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In response to questions, Graham's happy to drill into specifics on everything from gun control to the way European countries' oppositions to genetically modified organisms is prolonging hunger in Africa.

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And McCain lauds him at every turn. Genuinely concerned that the world is in worse shape than it has been for decades, he says Graham is the right person to turn things around.

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For Graham, the presidency would be the high point of decades of hard work in his political and personal life. He believes he can save the country from its current trajectory...

And over lunch, he turns reflective when asked what he's learned about himself from the campaign so far.

"Until you run for President, you never think of yourself as a sum of parts. ... I'm having to explain my entire life experience," he says. "What I've learned is that I've lived a pretty interesting and full life.

"This process makes you appreciate all the successes and all the struggles."

Whether his combination of sober analysis and sincere policy prescriptions — plus some witty asides — will pay off is yet to be seen. But Graham will keep plugging away, confident that this is the way to win, and to save the country. "The only way forward for a guy like me is to do what we're doing today."

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