Rep. Joe Wilson Quickly Apologizes to President Obama

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:07 pm

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After setting himself up for the holy mother of all political backlashes after calling President Obama a liar during his healthcare address to Congress, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) quickly put out an apology for his outburst and lack of civility. He didn’t apologize though for being completely wrong.

Here is the video of the outburst:

Wilson said in a written statement, “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. 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.” Wilson also called the White House to apologize.

This thing was about to blow up and probably dominate the news for at least one cycle, so it was smart of Wilson to apologize, but he is an idiot to believe that illegal immigrants would be covered in the bill. He is an even bigger idiot for yelling out during the president’s speech. Wilson’s behavior demonstrated just how poisonous the partisan divide has become.

It is nice that Obama likes to talk about bipartisanship, but the reality is that there will be no bipartisanship as long as Republicans and Democrats can’t trust each other. Wilson may have screamed out his thought that Obama is a liar, but there were many other Republicans sitting there who felt the same way. Bipartisanship has become a relic of a bygone legislative process. The truth is that politics is now a zero sum game where majority rules.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association