"If I can do it in South Carolina, I can do it anywhere"

“Everyone knows Lindsey can’t win,” another person who attended said more bluntly. “But they feel that he’s going to be an important contribution to the debate.”

There is widespread speculation that Graham is running for president to make a point — and indeed, he is making them. Graham sees a world flirting with disaster. If the president accepts a bad deal with Iran over nuclear proliferation, “we’re on the road to Armageddon,” Graham said. If lawmakers do not reform entitlements programs to cut spending, “we will blow America up ourselves,” he says…

If Graham no longer discusses policy with the president, he has begun to offer counsel to his potential Republican adversaries. Bush has called Graham to discuss foreign policy on multiple occasions, as have Scott Walker and Chris Christie, Graham said, and he has gladly offered advice — to the frustration of some of his aides.

“To me, my competition is not them as much as it is, I want to try to get the party in a good spot when it comes to national security,” Graham said. “When one candidate calls another potential candidate, I think it shows that they have confidence in who they are.”