Graham: It's A "lie" To Say Obama Not Injecting Race Into Campaign

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Barack Obama is "absolutely" injecting the issue of race into the presidential campaign on Sunday morning, and twice calling it "a lie" for the Democratic presidential nominee to claim otherwise.

“To say that Barack Obama did not intentionally inject the idea of his name and his race is a lie,”  Graham said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."

“There is no doubt in my mind that Sen. Obama is trying to suggest that he is the victim of something,”

The issue of race exploded onto the campaign trail this week after Obama delivered a speech in which he said he was being attacked for “not looking like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”

The McCain campaign later accused Obama of "playing the race card," a charge the Obama camp angrily denied.

“To say that that is not trying to inject the idea that you are a victim of John McCain trying to make fun of your name and your racial background is a lie," said Graham. "That needs to be admitted to.”

Appearing on Fox with Graham, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) defended Obama's comments.

"What he was saying all along is that he has a different kind of resume," said Daschle. "What he was saying is that he is a different kind of candidate, a different kind of leader."

UPDATE: Asked about Graham's comments, Obama spokeman Bill Burton told Politico's Amie Parnes, “The McCain campaign seems to sink more and more into the gutter every day.”