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Whoops! Gramm "Spoke For" McCain Today At Edit Board Meeting

As you all know, after McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm's claim that we're a "nation of whiners" blew up into big news, John McCain distanced himself from Gramm by saying that Gramm "does not speak for me."

But as it turns out, Gramm was in fact very much speaking for McCain and representing him at a meeting today with a New York newspaper editorial board. Check out this throwaway line in WaPo's write-up today...

Speaking today from New York, where he was meeting with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on McCain's economic policies, Gramm said the nation's economy was initially thought to have grown by an anemic 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year.

Oops. Adding to what Matthew Yglesias says here, it might be a good idea for McCain to get himself a top economic adviser who does represent his views in situations such as meetings with the edit boards of powerful newspapers.


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Good thing he's a Maverick (TM) otherwise this would seriously call into question his sincerity and veracity. Lucky bastard!

The sincerity and veracity called into question belong to the nations three leading broadcast news networks. As this post points out, while John McCain is sitting in front of the travelling press corps saying "Phil Gramm doesn't speak for me," Phil Gramm was in New York speaking for him.

All three networks reported on McCain distancing himself from Gramm. Not one mentioned McCain was standing in front of them lying. All three are headquartered in New York as is the Wall Street Journal. The meeting was reported in advance in the Washington Post. The networks missed it.

If they are not biased they are incompetent. After all the flack they took, and all their denials that they rolled over as the Bush administration lied us into Iraq, they expect to have any credibility after a performance like this?

if McCain doesn't agree with his top economics surrogates about it, he probably needs a new team.
From Yglesias.

Except I think he (McCain) does agree with Gramm. This is some distraction game they are playing.

Donate $$ to Obama!!

duh! I get it.


*Running off to get coffee.*

Where did McCain get his degree in psychology? The same place he got his degree in economics?

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Except I think he (McCain) does agree with Gramm.

I don't think McSame has a clue about whether or not to agree with Gramm.  That would mean having to know something about economics.

No, McSame's choice of Gramm Cracker had nothing to do with economic policy.  Feh.

McCain is pretty much getting a freepass on everything. If reporting were remotely fair, it would have been a good bye for Mac already.

There could be a conflict of interest in light of the fact that folks working for the MSM tend to pull down 6-8 figure incomes and a rollback of the Bush tax cuts or an increase in the Capital Gains Tax will effect them personally. Also, McCain throws a really great BBQ.

Friends, the corporate media sucks, but you can cheer up just a bit. CNN has covered the "Dr. Phil" line rather decently.

Obama was smart in using the "Dr.Phil" punch line, only way to attract the establishment media to a story nowadays. I admit I didn't watch the coverage all day but I've a feeling they did little to explore the relationship between McBush and Phil Gramm. Empty Gramm is the economic brain of McBush.

More whining.

The media CAN'T report honestly about McCain. McCain is such a rotten candidate that there would be no question regarding how the election is going to turn out.

But if there is no question about the election then there is no suspense, no real conflict. That means no one reads or watches the media. The media would then lose advertising revenue. So to keep up their revenue at a time newspapers are all cutting staff for lack of funds, the newspapers have to ignore when McCain shoots himself in the foot. The TV is, of course, also losing viewers and also needs to ignore McCain gaffes to keep people watching.

Being honest reporters would cost the media too much money, and this is an economy measured entirely by accounting results. No amount of quality of product counts when the bottom line is shrinking. But that's the expected result when the only measure of success is wealth and power, isn't it?

Whiner.

No, no, no. Gramm only speaks for McCain in the afternoons. After the candidate has gone down for his nap. The "whiner" interview with the Washington Times was in the morning.

"Barack Obama's daughters were interviewed for 'Access Hollywood, and now, right after they did the interview, Obama says he regrets allowing them to be interviewed for television. Says he regrets it. Yeah, John McCain says he also regrets allowing his daughters to be interviewed on television, take a look [on-screen: Two elderly women looking in camera, one with a walker. The other says 'We're voting for Truman!' as her 'sister' smiles and nods)." --Conan O'Brien

It's good that the McCain team is coordinating their talking points, as John McCain's been talking about how the problems with the economy, gas prices, energy, et al, and his proposals to solve them, are 'mostly psychological', for months now.

Alternative energy? McCain will harness the power of the subconscious, store it in a science-contest-prize battery, and use it to power your new 'horseless carriage'.

Go McCain!

http://www.womenforjohnmccain.com/

Kos has a great post on this very point. Obama and his surrogates need to beat McCain over the head with this one. Either he was lying before or he's lying now. Either way, he's lying.

He did beat him over the head with that very point today. The connection from Phil Gramm's "mental recession" to John McCain's "psychological" solutions was a seamless one.

It was frickin beautiful.

Yes, but Democrats always act like they should make a point once and then move on. This may be intellectually responsible -- but it is stupid politics. This McCain gaff should be beat over the head again and again all the way to the election. And if any Republican ever claims that "bitter" shows condescension, this should be repeated with mock horror for the extreme disrespect it shows to all Americans.


Repetition in soundbites. And full analyses of McCain's LONG, CLOSE history with Gramm. This is the chance to tie it all the way back to degulatory, pro-rich policies. Every time Gramm is mention, it should be "McCain's close friend and longtime chief economic advisor Phil Gramm...."

Theda S.

Theda S.

I guess McCain was joking when he said, “Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me” on The Page.

I'm just relieved to find out our family's financial difficulties are psychological and not real. Whew!

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why does birth control make john mccain so uncomfortable?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q8obHEULLg

"i don't usually duck an issue"

ha! yes he does.

just today when asked what role phil gramm would play in his administration, mccain made a lame joke and moved on WITHOUT ANSWERING THE QUESTION!

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There's one amazing flash of panic in that video clip that I swear is a flashback to a Hanoi Hilton interrogation session.

Get off McCain's case why dontcha.

The man has dogs, for chrissake.

Gramm is also the lobbyist referenced in the link who helped write McCain's economic policy. They are hardly strangers.

John McCain Housing Policy Shaped By Mortgage Industry Lobbyist

"I did not have advice with that adviser...Mr. Gramm" John McCain, convincing the press that Gramm does not speak for him while Gramm was speaking for him to represntative of the press in the form of the Wall Street Journal.

Tests reveal that holes found in the lapels of a blue suit belonging to Senator John McCain matched the pin of a campaign button saying "Gramm for President '96" once belonging to McCain during his chairmanship of that campaign.

Of course some of the roots of our economic downturn our psychological. We are in a state of despair! Every time we gas up our vehicle, evem a hybrid, it feels like a punch in the nose. The cost of living requires debt, and debt removes savings. Those middle class individuals who responsibly owned a home now watch as their equity dries up because lenders played roulette with teh property market, thereby erasing what savings the average family may have had. Consumer confidence, the key "psychological" indicator, is at an all time low since its inception.

So, yes, Dr. Phil, the recession is psychological in nature. It is a psychological reaction to an economic meltdown at the hands of unaccountable financial charlatans who have committed yet ANOTHER margin loan scam sold by a pliant media.

ANOTHER margin loan scam. The same loans that presaged the panic of 1907, the crash of 1929, the crash of 1987, the meltdown of 2000, and the new and improved disaster of 2007 forward. Our man McCain was a key player in the crash of 1987 with his four other Keating buddies, so he has firsthand knowledge of how the scam works and how to get off scot free.

If McCain and Gramm want to spin the power of positive thinking on us, so be it. If they want to tell us that in order to overcome these times we must all purchase "The Secret" and follow it to the letter, then so be it. I will use my power of positive thinking to positively vote against him in November. What a bunch of schmucks!

NBC nightly news with Brian Williams had full coverage (well, 3 minutes or so) of the event. They had barack giving his response about Dr. Phil, a short history of Gramm and mcCain's past relationship, clips of McCain giving praise to Gramm a few months ago, Gramm's remarks. They balanced it with the Jesse Jackson comments off camera about Obama "talking down to blacks."

Awesome. Michael Cooper has an article on the "nation of whiners" remark in the NY Times today. Right now, it's front and center on the main website.

Why not just ask McCain who DOES officially speak for him... and then dog that individual until he's treed and howling for mercy.

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