This is a good lesson in political spin. This is how they do it folks!!
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You might be a little stressed out, too, if you had four sons in the military services these days.
Rep. Joe Wilson's "Lie! You lie!" outburst during President Obama's healthcare address was uncharacteristic of the four-term South Carolina Republican, observers say.
But Wilson, a colonel in the state's national guard himself, has four sons in the military services, two of whom have served in Iraq.
One is a senior at Clemson, enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and training with the South Carolina Guard, Wilson spokesman Ryan Murphy told me, in response to a query.
Presumably, he could soon face duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Son Alan, a major in the Army National Guard, served a year as an intelligence officer in southern Iraq. He is currently running for the Republican nomination for state attorney general.
Julian Dusenbury Wilson is a captain in the Army National Guard.
Son Addison G. "Add" Wilson, Jr., a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is a Navy doctor .
All of which would seem to belie the claim of "a Democratic operative with experience in South Carolina" that "Wilson's treatment of the commander in chief could cost him among the district's sizable military population," according to CQ's Jonathan Allen and Adjoa Adofo.
But who knows?
"Wilson himself is facing the possibility of a credible rematch of his narrow 2008 victory over Marine Corps veteran and Democrat Rob Miller, which Wilson won with 53.7 percent of the vote," Allen and Adofo reported after the congressman's outburst Wednesday night.
Wilson's spokesman did not respond to a question as to whether his sons' military situations contributed to his emotional outburst.
"I let my emotions get the best of me," he said in a prepared statement after calls rang out for an apology. He also called White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to voice his regret, according to reports.
"While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable," said Wilson, who sits on the armed services and foreign affairs committee.
"I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."
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