Sen. Lindsey Graham ends presidential bid

“Hillary, if you get to be president, I’ll help you where I can”, he said. John McCain, the SASC chairman, said in a statement Monday that with Graham’s departure, the GOP lost its “most qualified, thoughtful, fearless and honest presidential candidate”, who had “the most national security experience”.

It was a privilege to support my dear friend @LindseyGrahamSC – thank you for all you have done for the country you love & serve so well! Lindsey Graham was suspending his presidential campaign quickly reverberated through the race on Monday, with moderate candidates especially quickly moving to send Graham their well wishes.

Graham “won” by being loose, displaying knowledge and espousing pragmatism in the face of the extreme words that have dominated so much of the agenda in the crowded GOP field. He called the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, “a war we can not afford to lose”, and he repeated his call to “turn back the tide of isolationism that has been rising in the Republican Party”. “I believe we have run a campaign you can be proud of”.

Graham also did not answer a question from CNN on whether he would accept a position in a Trump administration if Trump wins the presidency, saying that he is focused on improving the GOP.

“Today most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what’s needed to secure our homeland”, he said. After the attacks on Paris that killed 129 people, Graham pushed for an authorization of military force against the Islamic State that would allow the U.S.to attack the groups’ supporters anywhere, with no time limit. “I think we’ve done well in the debates, it’s just hard to break through because the buzz doesn’t last very long”.

“My biggest problem is a lot of people like what I say, but not a lot of people hear it”, he said.

The day after he announced his run for president, Graham released an impressive 100-person fundraising network in the Palmetto State. He was an early and articulate critic of rival Donald Trump’s destructive know-nothingism (for which Trump childishly made public Graham’s cellphone number).

Too bad. Graham’s the kind of politician Republicans need if they’re going to thrive as the nation becomes more ethnically and racially diverse.

Graham dropped out before the conservative Republicans debated their “family values” platform.