http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/media-sorry-to-see-graham-and-his-pro-immigration-platform-go/article/2578973Several would-be presidential candidates have dropped out from the 2016 race, but none have left the press so glum as the exit of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Though many in media were careful to note that they disagreed with him on many issues, they also admitted they were sad to see the South Carolina lawmaker and his pro-immigration platform go.
"None of the 13 remaining Republican presidential candidates support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, now that Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has dropped out of the race," the Huffington Post noted.
The U.K.'s Guardian opined, "In a party that demands increasingly radicalized, anti-establishment candidates, he may simply have been too rational."
The article went on to praise the senator's many moderate positions, most especially his support for immigration reform.
Graham may have been a hawk on national security issues, but at least, "he was open to bipartisan solutions to complicated issues such as immigration," the Charlotte Observer said.
The South Carolina lawmaker was one of eight senators who championed comprehensive a immigration reform bill in 2013. Graham was joined by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., John McCain, R-Ariz., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The "Gang of Eight" bill, as it came to be known, never made it out of the House.
Because of his role in the bill and his constant support for efforts to reform immigration policy, newsrooms throughout the United States say they'll miss seeing Graham on the campaign trail.
The Times referred to his position on the issue as "pragmatism."
The Washington Post's editorial board added that Graham, "was always a long shot for the Republican presidential nomination, but the departure of the South Carolina senator from the race ought to be lamented."
"It is distressing that a candidate with his record of service, thoughtful views and humanistic approach to politics could never get any traction with the GOP base," it added.
The Post's editorial board said the GOP should be worried that GOP front-runner Donald Trump's brand of populism easily overshadowed Graham's more "thoughtful" message. Graham "didn't shirk from staking out positions that put him at odds with the Republican Party extremes that have outsized influence in the primaries," they wrote.
"That made him the voice of reason about the need for comprehensive immigration reform," they added. "He was politically courageous in arguing that the United States would have to deploy ground troops in Syria to defeat the Islamic State; he may yet be proved correct."
I think Graham thought he had an angle into the Presidency if Foreign Policy and terrorism became the top issue, but when terror hit San Bernardino and hawk Graham could get no media attention because Trump declared war on the families of ISIS...I think he knew he could not be more audacious than Trump.
