Lindsey Graham had a debate with Nancy Pelosi, er, Jaime Harrison. Here’s our take

Somewhere in California, Washington, D.C., or wherever else she is at this very moment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding an ice pack to each ear.

She has to be.

Surely Pelosi’s ears must be burning to an incandescent glow — and thus in need of heavy, steady applications of ice — given how often Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham uttered the Democrat’s name rather than that of his actual Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison, on Friday night.

And that leads to the only conclusion worth taking away from Friday’s final debate between Graham and Harrison:

It’s time for Election Day — Tuesday Nov. 3 — to get here already.

Nothing really new

During their final confrontation — held in the studios of public broadcaster SCETV — both Graham and Harrison displayed all the signs of two justifiably weary men who have nobly pushed themselves to their absolute limits.

Neither candidate said anything particularly new.

Well, unless hearing a powerful U.S. senator relentlessly utter, “NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi .. NancyPelosi ..” somehow qualifies as something revelatory.

But, really, let’s be frank:

Is there truly anything left for Graham or Harrison to say as the waning days and hours of their grueling, tight Senate battle wind down?

The time for talking is effectively over.

It’s time to bring on Election Day.

Our view is clear

The State Editorial Board has made our view known.

We believe that Harrison’s laser-like attention to the issues that directly affect average South Carolinians should carry the day over Graham’s increasingly insular focus on the small-bore political games and partisan score-settling in Washington — a worrisome flaw that Graham revealed yet again Friday with his robotic default-mode references to Pelosi, who isn’t even in the U.S. Senate.

We believe that South Carolina needs a new senator.

We believe that Graham’s time in the Senate, though marked with numerous accomplishments during 18 years of honorable service, should end.

Now it’s the voters’ turn

But now it’s time to stand aside and make way for the voters of South Carolina.

It’s time for the voters of South Carolina to decide.

It’s time for the voters of South Carolina to speak.

And count us among those who can’t wait to hear what they will say on Nov. 3.

At long last Election Day is near.

And that means there are only three words left to say:

Bring it on.

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 12:30 PM.