FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A Republican congressman from South Carolina made a complete fool of himself during a presidential address to a joint session of Congress last night, and in the process confirmed a lot of what the American public can't stand about politicians.
Rep. Joe Wilson shouts, "You lie!" after President Obama denies the health plan would cover illegal immigrants.
But he also had a point...
South Carolina's Joe Wilson shouted "You lie" at the president - after Mr. Obama denied that proposed health care legislation would mean free health coverage for illegal aliens. The fact is they get free health care now by just walking into any emergency room, and nothing in the proposed legislation would change that.
Nevertheless this was pretty low - even with our reduced expectations for our lawmakers.
Wilson stunned the room... everybody except the president. Republicans froze, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi frowned at him, and Vice President Joe Biden shook his head. But President Obama looked toward the outburst and said "that's not true" and then continued on.
There has been a steady and very noticeable decline in civil discourse in this country over the last few years. The entire month of August was filled with scenes of angry Americans yelling at each other at town hall meetings over the subject of health care reform.
And when a member of Congress yells at the President of the United States, calling him a liar in the middle of an address to a joint session of Congress, we have hit a new low. How do we get to the point where the highest office in the land is treated with such utter disrespect?
Here’s my question to you: Should Congressman Wilson face punishment for yelling "You lie" at President Obama during last night’s address to Congress?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Cheryl from Bluffton, South Carolina writes:
He should and he will, Jack. We in South Carolina are going to elect Rob Miller to replace him in Congress! No further punishment is needed aside from the crippling embarrassment this accomplished GOP liar is facing after his childish outburst.
Jim writes:
I believe that he should be censured by the House for his disgraceful conduct. If things like this are allowed to stand unpunished, the respect for our presidential office will continue to deteriorate and our meetings such as the one last night will turn into shouting matches much like the parliament in England. Shame on Wilson.
Robin writes:
The utter disrespect that Joe Wilson showed to the president was despicable. As a classroom teacher, if a student had called me a liar when I was addressing my class, he/she would have been thrown out not to return unless accompanied by a parent. Yes, Joe Wilson should be held accountable for his behavior. There was no excuse for it.
Eileen from Summit, New York writes:
Although I agree the outburst was not appropriate to the situation, why, may I ask is there such controversy about Congressman Wilson when we have a tax cheat as head of the Ways and Means committee? Are a few spoken words more significant than the actions of someone who so blatantly breaks the law?
Rodney writes:
Jack, By nature I'm a pretty cheap guy, but Joe Wilson ticked me off so much last night I couldn't wait to boot up my computer, log on to Rob Miller’s website and send him 100 bucks. We can't re-elect people like this anymore.
Denny from Tacoma, Washington writes:
Being a Republican is punishment enough.