GOP Senator Lindsey Graham Defends Tweets About President Obama
COOPER: Welcome back, live from Kiev. As we reported last night in the program, Senator Lindsay Graham has been one of the most vocal critiques of the Obama White House over the last few days. He lit up Twitter with a series of tweets in which he bluntly blamed the crisis in Ukraine on U.S. foreign policy. And his most provocative tweet probably, he wrote this and said, it started with Benghazi, when you kill Americans and nobody pays a price, you invite this type of aggression. That comment and others he made have some crying foul. Today, chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash asked Senator Graham about his remarks. Dana joins me now. So Dana, you talked to Senator Graham, what did he have to say?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Anderson, Lindsey Graham is a Republican who actually worked with the Democratic president on national security issues in the past, but today he told me he has, in his words, gone, quote, "way too long without speaking bluntly about the president's foreign policy." And he was eager to explain his criticism to me.</s>BASH: Senator, one of the tweets that you sent that's getting a lot of attention raising eyebrows is about Benghazi. You said about the situation in the Ukraine, it really in many ways started with Benghazi when our consulate was over run and our first ambassador was killed. How on earth is what's happenings in the Ukraine a result of what happened in Benghazi?</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It's not just about Ukraine. It's about our standing in the world. Wow you agree with Snowden is a hero or a traitor when our president tells them don't give him asylum, that hurts us. When you tell the Egyptian military, don't put Morsi and his crowd in jail, you challenge them to turn control back over to civilians, and nothing happens, that hurts us. When you draw a red line and you tell Assad, when you use chemical weapons on your own people, that will be a red line, and you flinch. When you tell the world, we're going to find the people that killed our four Americans in Libya including the ambassador and you do nothing about it, whether you agree with this policy in Syria or Egypt, whether you agree with his policies, when he tells people there are going to be consequences and there are none, it sets in motion exactly what you see.</s>BASH: But it just seems like a stretch to talk about the U.S., a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans killed, to take that to Vladimir Putin.</s>GRAHAM: I didn't say that Putin basically ignored Obama because of Benghazi alone.</s>BASH: I printed out a series of tweets and it was sort of rapid fire mean tweeting at the president. Really personal.</s>GRAHAM: It is personal.</s>BASH: Calling him weak and indecisive, no fewer than three times.</s>GRAHAM: I think he is.</s>BASH: But by saying these things, aren't you making him weaker in the eyes of Putin by someone like you with your stature calling him weak and indecisive.</s>GRAHAM: During the Iraq war, did Senator Obama criticize Bush's policies? Did people go on the floor and say that Bush lied to us about weapons of mass destruction. Didn't Harry Reid go on the floor and say that the Iraq was lost? The point I'm trying to make is that there's been too many times in the last six months where the president has told people, if you don't do what I say, there will be consequences and nothing's happened.</s>BASH: You are in the middle of a Republican primary, back in your state?</s>GRAHAM: Exactly.</s>BASH: You say the word Benghazi, it is red meat for the Republican base. You know that.</s>GRAHAM: Republicans and independents want it no more.</s>BASH: This isn't about primary politics back home?</s>GRAHAM: Everything I have done has been about what I think is best for the country. I think it's best to find the truth about Benghazi. When my primary is over and I'm going to win, I'm going to still be on Benghazi.</s>BASH: Now what is fascinating is that despite the partisan divide you just heart there, which is very deep over the reasons for the crisis in the Ukraine, there's surprising similarity among Republicans and Democrats about what is absolutely not an option and that is military action -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: I spoke to Senator Marco Rubio last night on the program who actually was in favor of much of what the Obama White House has done thus far, which was certainly interesting to hear from Senator Rubio. Dana, I appreciate the reporting, thanks.</s>BASH: Thank you.</s>COOPER: And we'll be right back.