Graham: 'I think I’d be a good commander in chief'
By Sarah B. Boxer
Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham has an unexpected pick for president: Sen. Marco Rubio.
“Rubio will be president one day,” Graham told Yahoo global news anchor Katie Couric, adding: “He’s got to prove to people he’s ready in 2016. That’ll be his challenge.”
It’s a challenge that Graham, after 20 years in Congress, thinks he is up for. “I think this is the best time for me to step up to the plate. I think I’d be a good commander in chief at a time we need one. The world’s falling apart,” Graham told Couric. “I think the next president of the United States needs to defend this nation and get Washington working again. And I think can do both.”
Despite the challenges he’ll face — including competition from about a dozen other Republicans seeking the presidential nomination — Graham is confident that Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton can be defeated. “We all think we can beat Hillary, or we would not be running,” he says. “It’s an open seat.”
Graham said Clinton’s greatest weakness is her association with President Barack Obama. “It’s hard for any party to get the White House three terms in a row. She’ll be running into a headwind. Because people’ll be looking for something new. And I would argue she doesn’t have a whole lot new to offer.”
Graham, who spent hours mingling with reporters this weekend at Gov. Mitt Romney’s E2 Summit in Park City, Utah, also took aim at Clinton’s relationship with the press.
Clinton has been criticized for allowing limited media access to her campaign. “I’m telling you right now, if she doesn’t do it soon, the narrative is that she can’t do it,” Graham told Couric. “It’s going to take hold, and if she makes one mistake, she’s in trouble. I’m going to make a bunch of mistakes. But the one mistake I’m not going to make is being shy or quiet about what I believe.”
One belief that Graham is vocal about is his opposition to same-sex marriage. However, if the Supreme Court rules this month that it should be legal nationwide, he says he will “accept the decision and move forward.” Graham also told Couric he’d be happy to have the endorsement of transsexual Caitlin Jenner, who says she is a Republican. “I’d like to grow the Republican Party,” he said. “I like to find common ground where I can. And if she would want to support me to help beat Hillary Clinton, I’d welcome her support.”
Graham also addressed his own personal life, which has been in the headlines. On Thursday, a hot microphone picked up Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., calling Graham, who has never been married, “a bro with no ho.”
Graham told Couric that Kirk is a friend, and quickly apologized. “He was trying to be funny, not mean, and it didn’t work.”
He added that his bachelor status should not be an impediment to winning the presidency. “Is it a job for married people only? Is there a sign on the White House, ‘Single people need not apply?’ I don’t know — I haven’t seen it. ”
Couric ended the interview by remarking how similar Graham seems to Frank Underwood, a South Carolina politician depicted by Kevin Spacey in “House of Cards.” In the show’s second season, Underwood kills a reporter by pushing her in front of a moving train.
Graham told Couric he’s a fan of the show, and joked that he could relate. “Generally we don’t kill each other in Washington. But there has been a time when most of us, if we were honest, wanted to push a reporter in front of a train,” he joked, quickly adding: “But I’d never cross that line.”
