GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he is the anti-establishment candidate. Is that true? Well, he spent decades on Capitol Hill, but he is getting weak support, even public criticism from some of his former Republican colleagues. Senator Bob Dole says Gingrich was a one-man band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway. Senator Tom Coburn called Gingrich’s leadership lacking. And Congressman Peter King called him undisciplined. Is that fair, or is some sour grapes from former colleagues?
Senator Lindsey Graham joins us. Nice to see you.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: Good to be with you.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, he has some support from former colleagues, but he sure is being hammered from some former colleagues. You worked with him. What was he like when he was speaker?
GRAHAM: Well, when you look at his record, he accomplished things in Washington we haven’t accomplished in a very long time, very productive, Welfare reform — Welfare as we know it ended on Newt’s watch — balancing the budget, entitlement reform, and the coup. The coup was in my office, and I was one of the guys that thought Newt wasn’t — was being too cozy with Clinton and was very erratic. And he was erratic at times.
But now in 2012, after I’ve sat down and tried to solve hard problems like immigration, and you know, coming up with a rational energy policy — he was trying to lead a revolution, deal with Bill Clinton, run the government from the House perspective. I think we were probably too hard on him.
VAN SUSTEREN: So are you saying that he’s — that he’s not a different man in that respect in terms of that aspect of his job as speaker, but that you have a — you have a different vantage point…
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