If you are actually trying to convince people here you are right, I think you don’t know your audience very well, or you wouldn’t be using Lindsay Graham as your character witness.
You are missing the bus-sized point. Graham led the coup against Gingrich, regardless of who he is now or was back then, he LED the coup against Gingrich, he said it was hatched in his office. And now, forget his politics, his policies, his whatever, he is saying I led that coup and I shouldn’t have... and looking back I understand how hard Newt’s job was... that is an admission, and if he led the coup back then, and is saying this now, that carries some weight. He sure isn’t thinking Newt will offer him VP.