“Let’s close the book on last week,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson,  the South Carolina Republican who shouted “You lie!” at President Obama during his Sept. 9 speech to Congress on health care.

Speaking to reporters at a hospital in West Columbia, S.C., Wilson said he was ready to work for bi-partisan reform and defended his credentials as a, normally, polite person:

“I grew up in the holy city of Charleston, south of Broad. It is the center of civility in a civil state. And also I am a graduate of Washington and Lee University. That in Lexington, Virginia is a college of gentlemen. And so I truly support civility.”

Wilson said his outburst on the House floor was best described by his son as a “town hall moment.”

“I, of course, as a gentleman contacted the White House and apologized,” Wilson said. “It was accepted, numerous times — which I appreciate. Additionally, the White House said, ‘Now let’s begin a civil discussion of the issues before us.’ And that’s, indeed, what I’d like to continue.”