July 11, 2008
Obama Hits McCain Adviser On "Whiners" Dig
Ill. Senator Responds After Phil Gramm Says U.S. In "Mental Recession" And Is A "Nation Of Whiners"
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Play CBS Video Video Campaign Notebook: 'Whiners' Katie Couric discusses John McCain advisor and former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who called the U.S. a nation of "whiners," suggesting that the economy is not as bad as we've been led to believe.
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Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, left, stumps for Republican Presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, at a campaign event at the Pepper Geddings Recreation Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Friday, Jan. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Photo Essay John McCain Some call him a hero, some a maverick. Will Americans call him Mr. President?
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Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who is a vice chairman of the Swiss bank UBS, made the remarks in an interview with The Washington Times. Gramm has a doctorate in economics.
CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante said Gramm's remarks played perfectly into the hands of the Obama campaign's argument that the GOP leaders are out of touch with regular American voters.
"America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy," Obama said during a town-hall event focused on helping women advance economically.
Obama drew cheers and laughter with that comment and boos and hisses when he read Gramm's quotes to the crowd. He contrasted them with rising gas and food prices, home foreclosures and job layoffs.
"It's not just a figment of your imagination," Obama said. "Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head."
"It isn't whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief," he said, drawing a standing ovation from the nearly 3,000 people in a high school gymnasium. "And I think it's time we had a president who doesn't deny our problems or blame the American people for them but takes responsibility and provides the leadership to solve them."
The economy is the top issue of voters, and, thus, has become the No. 1 issue in the presidential campaign as each candidate seeks to portray the other as out of touch with the country's struggles and himself as the leader able to pull the nation out of tenuous times.
CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said the comments couldn't have come at a worse time for McCain.
"You're in the suburb of Detroit - an area with 10 percent unemployment. You're trying to show that you're a Republican but you're not a conventional stereotype Republican, you feel the pain, to coin the phrase of the workers - and your top economic adviser is calling the country a nation of whiners, saying it's all in your head... Not helpful," said Greenfield.
As he sought to differentiate himself from McCain, Obama seized on quotes attributed to Gramm by the Washington newspaper.
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," Gramm told the Times. He noted that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," Gramm said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.
McCain disavowed Gramm's comments at a campaign event in Belleville, Michigan, reports CBS News' John Bentley.
“Phil Gramm does not speak for me,” McCain said. “I strongly disagree.”
Gramm has often been mentioned as a possible treasury secretary should McCain win the White House. Plante reports that when the McCain was asked about that possibility on Thursday, he joked that Gramm may still get a political appointment - as ambassador to a former Soviet republic.
"I think Sen. Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus, although I’m not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that," he said.
Later on Thursday, Gramm said in an interview that he meant the nation's leaders were whiners, not its citizens, The Washington Post reported, but he declined to retract his comments.
"I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true," Gramm said.
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- Phil Gramm dubbing the United States "a nation of whiners" and suggesting the country is in a "mental recession."
Meaning: The Screwwing of the American Middle Class will continue until Moral Improves. Posted by ianlou at 04:08 PM : Jul 11, 2008
LOL. Or like the old saying goes--"that woman was not raped--she was just made to have sexxxx forcibly." the rape was all in her mind......ie., if you are going to get raped anyway--might as well lie back and enjoy it? - Reply to this comment
- Hmmmmm...one says we are bitter--the other team says we whine....bitter whine = gall. The gall of all of them to label us all in any way, when we respond to circumstances and what politicians create and not the other way around. The sheer gall of them, indeed. LOL
- Reply to this comment
- Recent footage of Mrs. McCain indicate that she is tired of campaigning. The smile is gone sometimes. It must be hard to be on the campaign trail so long.
- Reply to this comment
- Watch McSame. His advisors are insistant on having his criminal wife Cindy no more than 2 inches away from him -especially for pics and tv. They know he looks too old and frail.
- Reply to this comment
- How would you prefer to be described, as BITTER or as a WHINER. Take your pick.
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Posted by koko98 at 01:43 PM : Jul 11, 2008
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Bitter. Bitter about this dumb asss administration. McSame and Gramm are both too old and out of touch. Sidney looks lost most of the time. - Reply to this comment
- Phil Gramm, exR-Texas, is as far removed from the needs of the American electorate as one can be. Having fed from the public trough for so many years Gramm personifies the well-fed Washington politician, knocking around with the elite and rich that he no longer felt obligated to the Americans in the lower economic levels.
Thank goodness he is gone. Still there are many more like him in Washington and, hopefully, one day soon we will be rid of them also.
Washington pols are far removed from the problems of the average Americans. They sit in their ivory towers wondering how they can get more power and hobnob with the rich and famous.
Such is the life of a politician, a long way away from reality. - Reply to this comment
- Great moments in American press history:
July 10, 2008 John McCain announces in Michigan that "Phil Gramm does not speak for me." Phil Gramm appears at the Wall Street Journal in New York to speak on behalf of the John McCain campaign economic plan. Networks cover McCain statement. Networks ignore Gramm appearance. Press, by silence, says it is now OK for Republican candidate to lie. - Reply to this comment
- Phil Gramm dubbing the United States "a nation of whiners" and suggesting the country is in a "mental recession."
Meaning: The Screwwing of the American Middle Class will continue until Moral Improves. - Reply to this comment
- Posted by CBS_Monitor1
yeah, ok, defendisrael - Reply to this comment
- Hello to the forums. Just wanted to let everyone here on this forum know that we have blocked and deleted DefendIsrael from posting on here for the following reasons:
1.) He dares to disagree with our agenda here at CBS
2.) He dared to utilize his free speech and expression
3.) He dared to mention free enterprise
4.) He is not an Obama supporter
5.) He did not cuss anyone out like we expect from our daily liberal family.
6.) Did we mention he utilized his freedom of speech and choice?
Any further instances and/or sign on names will be handled accordingly. Meanwhile, the rest of you can continue to post whatever you want. We understand your need to cuss people out and make childish insults towards those who are Conservatives. We here at CBS encourage you to keep up the fight for national socialism. Yes we can! - Reply to this comment
- Bush tells the world he is the pro-pollution president, no matter how much the world has to suffer.
You can take the idiot out of college, but you can''t take the fratboy out of the idiot. - Reply to this comment
- I would rather be described as bitter about the way the current administration has ruined our country (because while the choice of adjective may have been poor, the point is truthful, meaningful and important) than be condescended to and dismissed as whiners about the economy while we sink into a depression. Because the whiner comment is designed to deflect blame and continue to allow the GOP to rape,kill, spy on, pillar and plunder the American people while the elite get richer.
Was that your question? - Reply to this comment
- "The liberals on this forum are only affirming the Truth behind Phil Gramm''''s comment. They are whining like little babies all over this forum."
what an inane comment. Gee, have you looked at the latest news on the economy. Fredie Mac and Fannie Mae crumbling. stocks plunge AGAIN. but it''s all a "mental recession". Sadly, the "rich" GOP types (not the ones who make 60k a year and THINK they are rich and will be affected by repealing the tax breaks to those making over 600k a year) don;t realize that they are about to lose all those riches as we sink from recession into depression, and continue to beg for 4 more years of the same policies that are bringing our country to its knees. The Chinese own us. the Middle East controls us with their oil. That''s OK Repubs, keep sticking your head in the sand and hoping it will all go away. - Reply to this comment
- Come on big daddy government! Take care of me! I don''''t believe in free enterprise and doing something for myself! I want the Big Daddy Government to supply all of my needs because I''''m a lib and I am used to be handed everything for free in life dating all the way back to my momma and poppa who spoiled me as a kid.
Posted by DefendIsrael at 01:00 PM : Jul 11, 2008
Read your own post Fool, then read your posting name. That says it all. Hahahahahaha! Change is coming! Only 193 days left! Enjoy! - Reply to this comment
- The LIBS want SOCIALISM which leads to communism, and they have no problem with it!
Posted by DefendIsrael at 01:04 PM : Jul 11, 2008
Hey Zionist stooge, you and all your welfare recepients in Israel quit begging for our handouts. You only exist because of MY tax dollars. I''m tired of baleing all your sorry a$$es out every time you get into trouble. I''m not joined at the hip with you like the bushite zombies are. This has been going on since you robbed and stole the Palestinians'' lands. Change is coming. Time to earn your own livings now! - Reply to this comment
- Posted by omega39 ....
thats a funny statment,
Especially coming from
DefendIsrael, stay at home toe tapper who doesnt work.... - Reply to this comment
- The LIBS want SOCIALISM which leads to communism, and they have no problem with it!
Posted by DefendIsrael
Wow we have someone that is living back in the 1950''s. He bud the cold war is over - Reply to this comment
- Come on big daddy government! Take care of me! I don''''t believe in free enterprise and doing something for myself! I want the Big Daddy Government to supply all of my needs because I''''m a lib and I am used to be handed everything for free in life dating all the way back to my momma and poppa who spoiled me as a kid.
Posted by DefendIsrael a
well DefendIsrael, here is what I will do. I will keep my tax dollars and take care of myself. You can continue to have your tax dollars given away as welfare to Israel and wasted on their defense, k. - Reply to this comment
- DefendIsrael
LOL..... Socialism?
Look whos Advocating Corporate Socialism,
the Biggest Welfare Recipients are Pi.shreal
and Corporations under conservoToetappers...... - Reply to this comment
- They are depending on someone else to give them HOPE. That is the mistake. Dependency.
Posted by Ariel133
ABSOLUTELY! If they can''t gain hope for themselves they will never get if from another person.
The LIBS want SOCIALISM which leads to communism, and they have no problem with it! - Reply to this comment
