Starting Gate: It's All In The Head?
Phil Gramm has always had a way with words. When he ran for president in 1996, the former Texas senator was fond of reminding GOP primary voters that he owned more guns that he needed, but not as many as he wanted. He was also quick to let his audiences know that he had failed the third, seventh and ninth grades.
Somewhere along the line, Gramm must have missed class the day they taught aspiring politicians not to downplay economic concerns when over 80 percent of the nation thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction – especially when you're the chief economic adviser for the Republican presidential nominee. Calling the current conditions a "mental recession" was enough to give Democrats an easy applause line. Saying the country has turned into a "nation of whiners" may be enough to make voters angry.
John McCain was swift to repudiate Gramm's characterization of the economy, going so far as to threaten to send Gramm into virtual exile should he win the White House. But for a campaign which was supposed to have used this week to flash its new organizational ability to stay on message, it wasn't comforting.
McCain's message was somewhat overshadowed throughout the week by speculation about more shakeups in the campaign, questions about whether his pledge to balance the federal budget adds up, the Iranian missile launches and now, Gramm's comments. Not all, maybe none, of those distractions were in the McCain campaign's control but it's been a textbook example of the challenges for even the most disciplined campaigns.
The "mental recession" episode is a double-punch to McCain. Many Republicans and conservatives agree with Gramm, saying that the economy is in much better shape than is being portrayed. On his nationally syndicated radio show yesterday, Limbaugh praised the comments. But McCain, who happened to be speaking at a town hall meeting in Michigan, a state undoubtedly struggling, had no choice but to quickly disavow the sentiment. Not what a campaign trying to get "on message" needed.
Around The Track
"When you go to Iraq or Afghanistan today, you're going to see a whole lot of people who are of Hispanic background," McCain says. "You're even going to meet some of the few thousand that are still green card holders who are not even citizens of this country, who love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship and enjoy the bountiful, blessed nation."
He adds: "So let's from time to time remember that these are God's children. They must come into country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them."