Straight Talk At Last From McCain Gramm

IBD Editorials ^ | July 11, 2008

[Kaslin]

Economy: Barack Obama is making hay out of McCain adviser Phil Gramm's unpolitic claim that "we've sort of become a nation of whiners." But Gramm is right that America's economic stature is underappreciated.

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Gramm, a former senator from Texas, is a Democrat-turned-Republican who was a pivotal figure in making Ronald Reagan's economic policies a reality. The Gramm-Rudman automatic budget-cutting mechanism worked beautifully in the 1980s until Congress dismantled it.

When Gramm gave a videotaped Q&A to the Washington Times last week, his sophisticated insights on America's economic role in the world were just what you would expect.

Unfortunately, Gramm, for the last year an economic adviser to John McCain, topped it off with a throwaway remark about us being "a nation of whiners" who don't realize what fundamental good shape we're in globally. Not surprisingly, Obama and other Democrats have jumped all over the ill-considered one-liner.

"We're in the midst of an export boom in manufacturing," Gramm pointed out. China and India's populations entering the global work force "greatly increased the supply of labor," and "almost everything Americans buy from China" is produced by American manufacturers utilizing Chinese workers.

The availability of so much new labor has meant that with America holding 60% of the world's capital, we have been huge beneficiaries, he added.

[dolphins]

Gramm is a fool. His comments validate that. He’s right up there with Larry Craig’s comments about his airport bathroom debacle. Obama has Reverend Wright but we’ve got Phil Gramm!

[Das Outsider]

Instead of making girly man excuses, it would be nice to see a candidate “lean into” an attack and say... “Darn straight we’re a nation of whiners. Look at you whining about Phil Gramm saying you’re a whiner.” Say it! Don’t back down. It’s the truth. Just say it!

Like McCain needs yet another reason for conservatives to dislike him. ;)

[Jo Nuvark]

McCain’s temper is exactly what conservatives are waiting for.
Someone needs to be OUTRAGED over the outrageousness.

[Das Outsider]

McCain’s temper is exactly what conservatives are waiting for. Someone needs to be OUTRAGED over the outrageousness.

If only he could apply that temper to enemies of the Republic instead of its citizens. He certainly wasn't outraged at the La Raza convention today.

[Jo Nuvark]

I didn’t watch the La Raza event.

McCain appears to be on some kind of drug.
His speech is painfully slow. Like Bush, there
are certain words he can’t pronounce.

Just who the heck is sedating our leaders?