Today on This Week, where he keeps a cot, Senator Lindsey Graham's lips said "Romney" but the words that come out are all "angry South Carolina Newt primary voters":
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senators, welcome to both of you. And, Senator Graham, let me begin with the economy. We saw those strong jobs numbers come out on Friday, three months in a row of 200,000-plus job creation, and that sparked a pretty remarkable concession from Rick Santorum last night coming off his victory in Kansas. He said, "The economy may be getting better and the Republicans may lose their edge on that issue." Is he right? And what does that mean for the general election?
So the economy is not -- is anemic at best, and the policies of the president are going to make it impossible for this country to recover. Big things haven't happened very well on his watch.
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SCHUMER: Well, no. I mean, look, the bottom line is that Rush Limbaugh's comments were just nasty and directed at a particular young woman who had a particular point of view and was expressing herself. Bill Maher is a comedian. It's much different. Rush Limbaugh has tremendous weight in the Republican Party. No one will rebut him. Bill Maher's a comedian who's on at 11 o'clock at night but has very little influence on what's happening here.
So, you know, again, they're sort of -- they're sort of in a hole, and they're always trying to look for excuses. But to focus...
STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you in that hole, Senator Graham?
SCHUMER: ... against women...
GRAHAM: No, America's in a hole. We -- two years since the stimulus was passed, George, they promised 8 percent unemployment by the summer of 2009. Two years later, we're at 8.3 percent. Obama health care was passed on a party-line vote. People in the country don't like it. Eighty percent of small businesses by the administration's own numbers are projected to have to give up their coverage by 2014, and it was supposed to add surpluses to our problems over 10 years, and now it's adding to the deficits.
And the president says, I'm for all-of-the-above when it comes to energy. Well, those are words coming out of his mouth. They don't come from his heart. No Keystone pipeline, no drilling in the gulf. At the end of the day, the economy is not doing well because of his politics.
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GRAHAM: Well, I -- I am very glad to hear that from the president. Senator Schumer and I and others have a resolution from the Senate that says containment of a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. So, yes, I was very glad to hear the president say that we would not have containment.
The problem is that during the three years in question, we've talked to Iran, they keep enriching. We've imposed sanctions, they keep enriching. They have enough low-grade uranium now to make one-and-a-half bombs, and our engagement with Iran is simply not working, and the Iranians have to believe that he will use force to stop them. Certainly, Israel is in a bad spot here.
But back to energy production, what this -- started this debate, President Obama has reduced energy production on publicly held lands, 14 percent oil, 17 percent for -- for natural gas. We're not producing oil on the lands that the -- and gas on lands that the United States owns. And all above is just a phrase.
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STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, Senator Graham, one more political question. The Romney campaign says it's going to take an act of God for the others in the race to beat him. Are they right? And is this race getting to the point where Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum should drop out for the sake of party unity?
GRAHAM: Well, good question. I wouldn't trade places with Mitt if I were in the race. He has almost a third of the delegates he needs. Mathematically, Rick would have to win 75 percent of what remains. He's done an outstanding job, Rick has, of starting with almost nothing and being a real contender, and Newt's come back from the dead two or three times. But mathematically, this thing is about over, but emotionally it's not. I think everybody believes, if I could just get a one-on-one with Romney, I could win this thing, but if Romney does well, wins either Mississippi or Alabama and wins Illinois, then I think it's virtually impossible for this thing to continue much beyond early May.
But there's a ways to go yet. It's Romney's to lose. And, quite frankly, every time he had his back against the wall, he's performed. And I like his chances, but the other two candidates have got to make that decision themselves.
We will win in November because of the three-and-a-half years of opportunity this president's had to turn things around, and, quite frankly, he's made it worse. Just go to the gas pumps and you'll realize how worse it is on his watch.
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, you -- you got that last plug in. Senators, thank you both...
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senators, welcome to both of you. And, Senator Graham, let me begin with the economy. We saw those strong jobs numbers come out on Friday, three months in a row of 200,000-plus job creation, and that sparked a pretty remarkable concession from Rick Santorum last night coming off his victory in Kansas. He said, "The economy may be getting better and the Republicans may lose their edge on that issue." Is he right? And what does that mean for the general election?
GRAHAM: Well, no, I don't think he's right at all. This is an anemic recovery as a pretty long recession, 37 months in a row over 8 percent unemployment for the people in the United States, the longest streak since the Great Depression. Last month in February, $229 billion monthly deficit, the highest deficit in the history of the nation. When you look at the stimulus package two years ago, they projected unemployment at 6.5 percent. Obamacare said that everybody's premiums would be lowered by $2,500; they've gone up by $2,200. And we're producing less oil on publicly held lands than any time in the nation.
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SCHUMER: Well, no. I mean, look, the bottom line is that Rush Limbaugh's comments were just nasty and directed at a particular young woman who had a particular point of view and was expressing herself. Bill Maher is a comedian. It's much different. Rush Limbaugh has tremendous weight in the Republican Party. No one will rebut him. Bill Maher's a comedian who's on at 11 o'clock at night but has very little influence on what's happening here.
So, you know, again, they're sort of -- they're sort of in a hole, and they're always trying to look for excuses. But to focus...
STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you in that hole, Senator Graham?
SCHUMER: ... against women...
GRAHAM: No, America's in a hole. We -- two years since the stimulus was passed, George, they promised 8 percent unemployment by the summer of 2009. Two years later, we're at 8.3 percent. Obama health care was passed on a party-line vote. People in the country don't like it. Eighty percent of small businesses by the administration's own numbers are projected to have to give up their coverage by 2014, and it was supposed to add surpluses to our problems over 10 years, and now it's adding to the deficits.
And the president says, I'm for all-of-the-above when it comes to energy. Well, those are words coming out of his mouth. They don't come from his heart. No Keystone pipeline, no drilling in the gulf. At the end of the day, the economy is not doing well because of his politics.
_____________
GRAHAM: Well, I -- I am very glad to hear that from the president. Senator Schumer and I and others have a resolution from the Senate that says containment of a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. So, yes, I was very glad to hear the president say that we would not have containment.
The problem is that during the three years in question, we've talked to Iran, they keep enriching. We've imposed sanctions, they keep enriching. They have enough low-grade uranium now to make one-and-a-half bombs, and our engagement with Iran is simply not working, and the Iranians have to believe that he will use force to stop them. Certainly, Israel is in a bad spot here.
But back to energy production, what this -- started this debate, President Obama has reduced energy production on publicly held lands, 14 percent oil, 17 percent for -- for natural gas. We're not producing oil on the lands that the -- and gas on lands that the United States owns. And all above is just a phrase.
______________
STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, Senator Graham, one more political question. The Romney campaign says it's going to take an act of God for the others in the race to beat him. Are they right? And is this race getting to the point where Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum should drop out for the sake of party unity?
GRAHAM: Well, good question. I wouldn't trade places with Mitt if I were in the race. He has almost a third of the delegates he needs. Mathematically, Rick would have to win 75 percent of what remains. He's done an outstanding job, Rick has, of starting with almost nothing and being a real contender, and Newt's come back from the dead two or three times. But mathematically, this thing is about over, but emotionally it's not. I think everybody believes, if I could just get a one-on-one with Romney, I could win this thing, but if Romney does well, wins either Mississippi or Alabama and wins Illinois, then I think it's virtually impossible for this thing to continue much beyond early May.
But there's a ways to go yet. It's Romney's to lose. And, quite frankly, every time he had his back against the wall, he's performed. And I like his chances, but the other two candidates have got to make that decision themselves.
We will win in November because of the three-and-a-half years of opportunity this president's had to turn things around, and, quite frankly, he's made it worse. Just go to the gas pumps and you'll realize how worse it is on his watch.
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, you -- you got that last plug in. Senators, thank you both...
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