HANCOCK — Lindsey Graham, a U.S. senator from South Carolina and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, had a simple point to make for the more than 50 people gathered in the Hancock Town Offices Sunday afternoon.
“I think we’re ready for a short, little guy from South Carolina” to be president, he said.
Graham arrived at the municipal building shortly after 2 p.m. to speak at the meeting the Hancock Republican Town Committee held in collaboration with the Peterborough Republican Town Committee.
The visit was one of nearly half a dozen stops he planned to make during his latest visit to the Granite State. After the meeting, Graham attended a house party in Spofford at Charlie and Mary Perry’s home. This morning he visited Lindy’s Diner in Keene and was scheduled to tour Chamberlain Machines Inc. in Walpole.
After audience members filled the row of folding chairs in the center of Hancock’s Barbara Calverly Meeting Room Sunday, others began lining the walls or leaned against the door frame.
Graham, who has 0.3 percent of the vote according to the latest poll on Real Clear Politics’ website, impressed many who gathered there.
What struck several people was not his appearance or the twang of his speech, but what he said.
“He was very articulate, very personable,” Jane Ford of Hancock said, standing in the back of the room offering coffee cake she made for the event.
Hale Woodward of Marlborough agreed with what Graham had to say, for the most part. He said the candidate was well-spoken and straightforward in his points.
“If he can get there, I think he’ll do good,” Woodward said.
Josh Cass, an 18-year-old Hancock resident, said he agrees with many of Graham’s stances, such as abortion. Graham says he’s pro-life except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.
During his hour-long talk, Graham laid out his plans for two areas he said he would focus on if elected: Social Security reform and building up the military.
Social Security will be significantly depleted once the Baby Boomer generation retires, Graham said, leaving little for future generations.
To alleviate this problem, Graham said he will force those in higher income brackets give more while also raising the age of retirement.
“If we don’t, we’re going to become Greece,” he said.
When it comes to military improvements, Graham said he wants to “plus up” the nation’s defense against extremist terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.
“Doing nothing is not a choice I would make,” he said.
Graham said he will work with Middle Eastern nations, such as Syria, to help fight the Islamic State.
“It’s not about killing terrorists, it’s about building up others,” Graham said.
Graham said the bipartisan approach he often takes when it comes to crafting policies is what sets him apart from the more than a dozen other Republican presidential candidates. But, he said, it’s also what’s made him unpopular among some.
“My biggest sin, politically, is that I work with Democrats,” Graham said.
He believes bipartisanship is necessary and a quality that any president should have.
“I’m trying to be practical, I’m trying to be conservative,” he said.
“I’m trying to be your nominee.”
