Who is Rep. Joe Wilson?

WASHINGTON - During President Obama's Wednesday night speech on health care, Rep. Joe Wilson, a little-known Republican from South Carolina, shouted "Lie. You lie" when Obama said that his plan would not offer free care to illegal immigrants. With that outburst Wilson has grabbed a lot more attention.

Wilson, whose full name is Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., represents a district that includes the state capitol of Columbia and the resort towns of Beaufort and Hilton Head Island. The 62-year-old has held his seat since 2001 when he won a special election following the death of Congressman Floyd Spence. Before that he served in the state's senate since 1984. As a teenager he worked on  Spence's campaign and as an aide to late Senator Strom Thurmond. He later worked as a senior Justice Department lawyer under President Ronald Reagan and is an attorney in his state.

The State reported that when he arrived in Congress, he removed the door from his personal office in the Capitol Hill suite to symbolize "no secrets here."

Wilson's boorish behavior enraged audience members on both sides of the aisle, who reprimanded his outburst. Wilson quickly apologized and issued a statement. "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me," Wilson said in his statement. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."

The New York Times reported that he also called the White House. Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, took his call and accepted an apology on behalf of the president.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said he accepted Wilson's apology, the Associated Press reported. Obama said Wilson apologized "quickly and without equivocation." Obama also said he's a big believer that "we all make mistakes."

CQPolitics points out that the stress of having four sons in the military, two of whom served in Iraq, may have contributed to Wilson's outburst. He is a colonel in the state's national guard, which plays well in his district's sizable military population. But it remains to be seen if the outburst will hurt his political career, as some think. CQ reported that Rob Miller, a Marine Corps veteran that Wilson beat in a close 2008 election, received a flood of online donations in the hour after the speech according to officials from a state Democrat campaign organization.

Wilson was set to open his office on Saturday according to Talking Points Memo to take part in "9-12 March on Washington," a conservative rally and march being held in D.C. A link to more information about this on the legislator's Web site is not accessible, as Wilson's official Web site has been offline Thursday morning.

The official Republican response to Obama’s speech. by Rep. Charles Boustany, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Louisiana, was also overshadowed by Wilson's actions. And Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said of the outburst "Totally disrespectful. No place for it, and he should apologize."