"I know that we can do better," said Hollings, 82, closing a political career that spanned more than half a century as a state legislator, governor and senator from South Carolina.

In a rambling, irreverent speech -- a Hollings trademark -- he rapped Republicans for driving up federal deficits with tax cuts, expressed outrage at the failure to reform Social Security and complained that Washington was giving away jobs, including South Carolina textile jobs, with free trade policies.

He lamented that lawmakers today must spend much of their time raising money for the next election. "The main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money," the tall, white-haired lawmaker said in his deep, southern drawl. "We don't have time for each other, we don't have time for constituents except for the givers. ... We're in real, real trouble."

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 5:50 PM | Basie! Home