Obama accepts apology over 'lie'
Rep. Wilson took heat from colleagues and donors for outburst at the president's speech.
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday accepted Rep. Joe Wilson's apology for shouting, "You lie!" during his speech to Congress, and House Democratic leaders showed no interest in sanctions against the South Carolina Republican.
Obama said that Wilson apologized "quickly and without equivocation" and that the congressman said the shout-out was "spontaneous."
"I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes, that we apologize quickly and without equivocation, and I'm appreciative of that," Obama said. "We have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big important issues that matter to the American people without vitriol, without name-calling, without the assumption of the worst in other people's motives."
Infuriated Democrats briefly considered sanctioning the four-term congressman but decided that doing so might distract from getting an agreement on health insurance. "It's time for us to talk about health care, not Mr. Wilson," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Wilson's behavior generated plenty of talk. He erupted after Obama stated that his health-care plan would not "insure illegal immigrants."
"You lie!" Wilson shouted from his seat.
The House version of the health-care bill explicitly prohibits spending any federal money to help illegal immigrants get health-care coverage. But Wilson is not alone in thinking that the prohibition in the House bill doesn't go far enough. For him and other Republicans, the problem is not what's in the bill; it's what the bill leaves out - namely, a provision to enforce the no-illegals rule.
Still, the reaction to Wilson's outburst was punishing. His Web site crashed and he took a beating on Twitter as Republicans and Democrats condemned his behavior.
Wilson bolted the chamber as soon as Obama was finished speaking. Shortly thereafter, he issued an apology: "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me. While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."
The uproar turned into a boon for Democrat Rob Miller, his opponent in next year's elections. Miller's coffers swelled to more than $500,000 since Wednesday night, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said.
In Wilson's district, however, many voters said the heckle wouldn't affect their support for him. Some said they wished more politicians would speak their minds. "He's the only one who has guts in that whole place," said John Roper, an insurance agent.
Wilson, 62, got his political start as an aide to Sen. Strom Thurmond. A military lawyer with four sons who have served in the military, he long aspired to statewide office. He also has a history of lashing out and later apologizing.
During the 2004 presidential campaign, he demanded that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, apologize for having criticized the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1971. Kerry is a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam.
Wilson's call for an apology set off an acrimonious debate. Former Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple amputee who served in Vietnam, called Wilson a "chicken hawk" who supported military action without having gone to war.
In 2003, when Essie Mae Washington-Wilson identified herself as the biracial daughter of Thurmond, once an avowed segregationist, Wilson accused her of trying to "smear" him. When the Thurmond family acknowledged that Washington-Wilson was Thurmond's daughter, Wilson apologized but did not back down from his assertion that she should have kept quiet.
