07/10/2008
McCain, Obama React to Phil Gramm Remarks on Recession
Yesterday, McCain adviser Phil Gramm said the nation's recession is a mental one: "You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession...We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet....We have sort of become a nation of whiners. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline..."
McCain immediately distanced himself: I don't agree with Senator Gramm...I believe that the person here in Michigan that just lost his job isn't suffering from a mental recession. I believe the mother here in Michigan and around America that is trying to get enough money to educate their children isn't whining. America's in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others. Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me, so I strongly disagree, go ahead and follow-up."
Obama responded to the Gramm comments: "I want all of you to know that America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy. We need somebody to actually solve the economy."
Watch Obama's response, AFTER THE JUMP...
Posted 8:24 PM EST by Andy Towle in Barack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, News | Permalink
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Jesus Christ...I almost feel sorry for Johnny Mac. Whoever's running his campaign MUST be out to destroy the old codger. They had a months' long head-start to whip their campaign and McCain himself into top shape, and yet there seems to be a brand new fuck-up every week. Meanwhile, Obama and Co. are running their ship so well I sometimes forget he hasn't already won the election. Love him or hate him, "Barry" has his shit together and the "Vet-In-Chief" continues to lag way behind.
Posted by: Chas | Jul 10, 2008 8:50:42 PM
Actually Mccain did NOT distance himself at first. Instead he defended Grahm.
It was some time after the shit started to hit the fan that mcshame finaly distanced himself.
Anyway;
-1 in every 501 houses is in foreclosure in america
-2 gas and food prices rsing with no end in sight
-3 our infrastructure is crumbeling
Recession? Hell, I see our utter collapse like Rome if we don't fix the sh@t quickly
CHAS, I agree. It is starting to hit the pity level with my view of the mcain campaign. He has replaced his campaign manager 3 tmes!!!!!
Like you said , he had a head start and yet Obama beats him in all national polls and in many former repub state polls like Virginia and Montana.
This thing is done and Obama is our next president, all we have to do is wait till people actuly pull the lever in november. mccain has already lost and it is only a question of by how much
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 10, 2008 9:15:09 PM
PS
Grahm was slated to be mccain's sec of the treasurey
The sage of omaha = Warren Buffett = one of the richest self made men in the world supports Obama because America has a better cance of putting its economic house in order under him. (there are whispers that Warren Buffett is on the short list to be Obama's sec of the treasury)
That last bit is for you RB if you read this thread. ;-) I know you worry bout Obama's econmic plans. You must admit that Warren Buffett out of anyone should know what he is talking about when it involves the economy.
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 10, 2008 9:21:15 PM
jimmyboyo, dahling... rome didn't collapse it morphed into the HOLY roman empire...
Posted by: the queen | Jul 10, 2008 9:57:43 PM
Sorry if this is slightly off topic,
but why was the SF gay pride festival handing out rainbow "Obama 08" buttons if he doesn't even support gay marriage?!
i found this really misleading/insulting...
Posted by: Jesse | Jul 10, 2008 10:35:23 PM
Sorry if this is slightly off topic,
but why was the SF gay pride festival handing out rainbow "Obama 08" buttons if he doesn't even support gay marriage?!
i found this really misleading/insulting...
Posted by: Jesse | Jul 10, 2008 10:37:16 PM
Sorry if this is slightly off topic,
but why was the SF gay pride festival handing out rainbow "Obama 08" buttons if he doesn't even support gay marriage?!
i found this really misleading/insulting...
Posted by: Jesse | Jul 10, 2008 10:37:23 PM
This is the same ex=senator Phil Grahmm from Texas whose wife was on the Board of Directors of Enron and upon the exposure of Enron, she silently slid away. He, of course, is currently a top Bank Officer with a Swiss Bank that is currently being investigated for criminal tax sheltering for American Citizens.
Posted by: jerry | Jul 10, 2008 10:53:14 PM
This is the same ex=senator Phil Grahmm from Texas whose wife was on the Board of Directors of Enron and upon the exposure of Enron, she silently slid away. He, of course, is currently a top Bank Officer with a Swiss Bank that is currently being investigated for criminal tax sheltering for American Citizens.
Posted by: jerry | Jul 10, 2008 10:55:49 PM
The Queen
Rome did colapse
The Holy Roman Empire was a stab at resurecting Rome. he so calle church fathers wantedto restablush the glory that was rome that had rea about in their manuscipts and picked Charlmagne to lead it. The Holy Roman Empire was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy after the Roman Empire
Rome fell
1-bloated beuracracy that couldnt/ wouldn't fix things ...think Katrina
2- stretched thin military in foreign wars, Mostly with Pythia = the middle east
3- A beuracracy dominated by religous nuts = christian prelates where prior to xtianity no priests or priesteses held olitical power in Rome outside of their temples....in fact the Emperor's main revenue was taxation on all Temples
4- an education system that focused on religous nutery = xtianity while tossing out the sciences and even burning most Greek manuscripts
5- a crumbeling infrastructure = think US bridges crumbeling, roads deerioting, schols falling to pieces, etc
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 11, 2008 12:12:25 AM
PS
The Queen wht the hell do you think the dark ages were?
The results of the fall of Rome. Europe reverting to barbarism for centuries . Hell they became so ignorant tht they stopped taking bths and even cosidered bathing (the height of Roman culture) a sin
Rome fell and chaos followed
Goodness gracious the Queen
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 11, 2008 12:15:36 AM
Obama '08 = $8 a gallon!
Ok, so what is he going to fix? Have you heard him talk? We cannot leave our thermostats on 72, eat as much as we like and expect the world to be ok with it, (Americans need to learn to live with less. Jimmy Carter circa 1979) we do not need to make English the language we need our kids to learn Spanish, no exporation for oil in our own country (America has more oil and natural gas than ANY OTHER COUNTRY ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH), and he supports windfall profits taxes on oil companies. You know, those taxes that we actually enacted on the oil companies in the 70's that not only drove the price of gas UP but caused shortages and we had to wait in line on odd/even days JUST TO PURCHASE GAS?! China is even drilling off the coast of Cuba, not 90 miles or so from Key West.
Further, lets talk about Bush's tax cuts for the "rich". EVERY American will have tax increases when they expire. ALL of us across the board. So lets review, gas is heading well past $5 a gallon, food is rising, jobs are down, we are struggling financially, and the BOTTOM tax bracket will go UP when the tax cuts for the "rich" expire?! Those provisions created a 10 percent tax bracket at the bottom of the scale, doubled the child-tax credit to $1,000 and reduced the penalty on married couples filing jointly. Yeah, Obama '08.
Hell, where is Clinton when you need her? I would actually cross party lines to vote for her now that we have a totally ill prepared no experience true Pelosi socialist leading in the polls. We are headed for much worse times!
We need out of the Middle East, we need to cut spending to match revenue to the tax brackets created by the Bush tax cuts and we need to drill in America and become energy independent!
And when all of this is said and done, Obama is president, Pelosi is speaker and Reid runs the senate we still will not be able to get married?! Sorry if I just do not get it! No need to rush to Macy's to pick out your china pattern anytime soon. Not only are they not going to give us gay marriage none of us will be able to afford the china anyway!
Posted by: RB | Jul 11, 2008 8:37:51 AM
Totally off topic now, but as an ex-Byzantinist I have to object.
Yes, the Western half of the Roman empire fell. But the Roman empire with its capital at Constantinople (called simply "the city" by the people) continued for over 1000 years (until 1453) as a bastion of civilization while the West was overrun by barbarians. They were reading and writing Greek and Latin and taking baths.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Jul 11, 2008 10:10:44 AM
Why can't we all just agree that both major party candidates suck and vote for Bob Barr? :)
He won't have us involved in foreign wars like McCain and he won't give our tax dollars to religious fundamentalist groups like Obama. And he won't allow the government and telecom companies to spy on us like both Obama and McCain. Everyone wins.
Posted by: paul | Jul 11, 2008 10:38:19 AM
Actually, its a shame it was him that said it cause he is such a prick, but I agree with his statement. The overall health of the economy is pretty good outside of a few devasted industries(ie. Real Estate and Banking).
I have no pitty for the people being foreclosed on as they brought it on themselves. Buying property they couldn't afford with loans that were designed to pay less than the actual interest. They are idiots and I don't want to see one drop of tax money to help them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see the Real Estate bubble coming so you got stuck at the top; tough luck. You gambled and you lost.
The banks deserve what is happening to them for creating the mess via stupid lending practices.
As far as gas prices, its high. But its not tremendously higher than its been in the past. http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Oil/Gasoline_inflation_chart.htm.
I have no faith the Dems are going to fix the gas situation and almost none that current Pubs will. So I am voting for anyone that isn't currently in office. I want to see more drilling, more Nukes, more coal and elimination of oil speculation. Increase CAF standards to show Opec we are serious but we have to get off of Opec oil as fast as possible. The only way to do that is start accessing our own energy supplies. I love the self titled "Progressives" solutions. Electric cars; 55 mile speed limits and wind. Neither of these are going to power my Boat at 50 mph; tow my boat or my (OMG) SUV. We need real solutions which means access to more oil.
Posted by: Jason | Jul 11, 2008 10:48:35 AM
Wow another anti-Mccain article while still no single one mentioning Obama's disastrous and disturbing FISA vote.
Any democrat who accepts the way Obama voted on that bill is no democrat at all. Period.
I'll vote for Bob Barr before I vote for Obama.
Posted by: Jeanluc | Jul 11, 2008 11:13:15 AM
Amen Jason! I have no pitty for anyone that purchased a $500,000 home on an interest only loan and expected to get away with it! The banking deregulations, ala Bill Clinton, encouraged the lending of money to people that otherwise would not have qualified. The banks went crazy with it and are now reaping what they sow! We do NOT owe them a bailout.
We could solve our problems. DRILL NOW and stop our dependence on the middle east.
Posted by: RB | Jul 11, 2008 11:35:46 AM
I don't know about the Roman Empire, but the American Empire was saved by Jimmy Carter's fiscal austerity (didn't make him too popular with Liberal Democrats, but we love him now.)
Respect you, and always appreciate your comments, RB, but you pick on my Jimmy Carter too much.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Jul 11, 2008 11:59:07 AM
The overall health of the economy is pretty good?
I guess that's why the dow just dropped under 11,000 for the first time in two years. Oil still almost at $150 and drilling in the states would do ZIP to change that.
We've spent the last year living outside the US, which makes the state of the US economy painfully obvious. Some places we really feel like we're from a third-world country, just can't keep up with those Europeans who waste all their money on high taxes and socialized medicine.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Jul 11, 2008 12:37:39 PM
We are suffering from a general lack of available credit (lots of govt. borrowing from China for the war in Iraq) and a weak dollar (import inflation). However, technically the economy is not in recession. It might feel like a recession because even if people aren't losing their jobs, the tight money are forcing many to make difficult economic choices, often for the first time in their lives.
Posted by: anon | Jul 11, 2008 1:17:50 PM
Ah, Jason, thanks for renewing an old cynic's confidence that, if not the poor, the narcissists will always be with us.
No one made you buy an SUV. No one made you buy a boat. You gambled that the price of oil would stay low enough that you could continue to afford to exercise your childish need for big toys for little boys—or, much more to the point, that those who SHARE the world with you would never tire of your being a planet parasite—and you lost. You brought it on yourself. You deserve what is happening to you for helping create the mess via stupid buying practices. Tell us, are you also one of those phallicly challenged guys who replaced the comes-with tires on his SUV with ones four times the size so it sits higher than others? Is the motor on your widdle boat WEAL LOUD? Does your mom still come over and do your laundry, clean up after you, wipe your butt?
Attention LOGO/here! TV! Idea for new gay reality TV show: "Super Nanny for Spoiled 'Adult' Solipistic Queens."
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Jul 11, 2008 1:19:15 PM
kevinvt
I would say that the constantinople empire was a seperate entity all together from the clasical Roman Empire. Yes, birthed from it,but such a seperate entity with a unique culture of its own that it can not be considered a contination of the Roman Empire.
America was founded on a revival of greco roman law and ieas, with DC dominated by neo-cassical architeture, etc. But amerca is not a continuation of the roman epire of old.
Rome fell. The western provinces dominated by CFonstantinople preserved a lot but created a thriving interesting culture of its own.
RB, go debate Warren Buffett.
This going to cme off kind of mean......
How rich are you? Have you created a multi billion dollar empire that is practicaly untouched by the current economic problems?
I will listen to the sage of omaha on economics and his saying Obama will be wonderful for the US economy and mccain and the repubs a disastor.
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 11, 2008 2:31:45 PM
damn typos
Oy
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jul 11, 2008 2:33:11 PM
Derrick, I have to disagree with you and agree with RB's justified criticisms of Jimmy Carter, although I disagree that Obama will be another JC. To the contrary, John McCain shares JC's compulsion to make every decision, no matter how trivial, without relying on staff.
JC was an unmitigated disaster as President, on every domestic and international issue. Do you not remember the days of double digit inflation and stagnant wages? Every week I went to the grocery store I spent at least $1-2.00 more for the same items. JC's laissez faire economics blunders were particualrly hurtful to lower and middle class working people. The judge for whom I was then interning considered himself fortunate when he secured a home mortgage with 17% interest rate! JC made the US militarily impotent by "de-funding" and a laughing stock with his "incomplete success" in rescuing the hostages. His unshakeable pattern was continual dithering on every foreign policy issue. His energy policies drastically cut domestic production by prohibiting drilling and building new refineries, thereby forcing increased reliance on foreign oil.
Later in my career, after JC was no longer President, I had the distinct displeasure to serve as staff to an international conference where he chaired the US delegation. What a mess he made. He even voted against proposals that he drafted and submitted, which had not been edited by others. We never knew what position he would take in the Assembly because he would agree to one position in conference and then "ad hoc it" when he had the microphone.
Moreover, I find his conduct since being voted out of office particularly distasteful, e.g., squandering the prestige earned as former President--despite his universally failed policies while in office--by serving as a means to humiliate the US in accepting the undeserved Nobel prize.
But enough of JC, as he was irrelevant then and remains so today.
How about a "parlor game" for a suffocating Friday? Name the gay child of each President (who had more than one child) since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Tip: One can select an adopted child or an illegitimate child. Happy guessing.
Posted by: rudy | Jul 11, 2008 2:57:47 PM