Phil Gramm, national campaign chairman and chief economic advisor to fellow Senator John McCain, is under fire for his comments supporting McCain's "psychological" explanation for our stagnant economy. "You've heard of a 'mental depression' ", states the Lone Star State's senator (growing loner by the minute), "this is a 'mental recession' ". Fearing the excuse of an out-of-context sound bite, Gramm then pulled his pistols out n' went fer it awl:
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline...We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today...Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."
McCain, never wasting a minute (as is the wont of one over 70), threw Gramm under his "Straight-Talk Express" quick as he could find a microphone. He tersely stated, "Senator Gramm doesn't speak for me. I speak for me.", before suggesting a better position than economic advisor would be ambassador to Belarus. Forgetting A) the fact that Gramm, by title and edict, was indeed speaking for McCain; and B) the GOP candidate's own recent--and numerous--references to our economic woes being psychological. See, it's all the fault of us commoners. If we'd just shut up and be happy with what we've got, maybe this "good feeling" vibe can help grow his stock portfol... I mean, our economy. Yikes.
To nobody's suprise, Fox News has been spinning the Gramm story so fast their panelists no longer know which way they're facing. On Special Report with Brit Hume, Fred Barnes--who not too long ago tore Obama a new hole for his "bitter Americans clinging to guns and religion" comments--actually called the Texas senator's words "straight talk", and said the comments about being a nation of whiners were spot-on. Straight up, honest. I can't make this stuff up.
All this on the same day McCain, pressed by a reporter for his opinion on why Viagra is covered by insurance while birth control is not, confessed that it was something he hadn't really thought about. "It" being coverage of birth control, the content of bills he has voted down multiple times according to congressional record. The video clip of his hemming-and-hawing would make a La-Z-Boy recliner uncomfortable.
Being capable of voting against legislation when one has yet to give any thought to it is not an especially admirable quality. Yet still, it's more endearing than the idea that a major party candidate is so far out of touch with the basic needs of half our nation's population that he is left slack-jawed at the end of a simple health care question on birth control.
Wait. I thought Obama was supposed to be the elite one.
