McCain Camp Stood by "Nation of Whiners" Remark

"I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true." - Phil Gramm

After saying that Americans struggling every day to pay the bills, or living in communities with high unemployment, make up a "Nation of Whiners," McCain's first response wasn't to distance himself from the remarks like he's now trying to do. Nope, until the fallout surrounding these absurd comments became clear, his campaign was out there defending it as being 100% true.

Sam Stein reports:

But in an initial statement published by Politico and then, seemingly, removed from its site, a McCain campaign aide actually stood by Gramm's remarks, saying the interview as a whole was merely meant as a preview of the Senator's economic agenda.

"Mr. Gramm was simply saying that we are laying out the economic plan this week," the piece quoted an aide as saying. "The plan is comprehensive, providing immediate near-term relief for Americans hurting today as well as longer-term solutions to get our economy back on track, secure our energy future and deliver jobs, prosperity and opportunity for the next generation. We're laying out that plan this week with an emphasis on the critical importance of job creation, and it's been a great success so far."

And is McCain's top economic advisor apologizing for his remarks? Nope. Instead, he's saying that he's standing by them because it's true that we've simply got a Nation of Whiners and that this is simply a "mental recession." Every word, he says, was true.

Eventually, the McCain camp put out a pretty weak statement in response to the controversy over his campaign's remarks. Why so weak? Maybe because they realize that because McCain has made so many comments just like it, they know McCain can't credibly distance himself from Gramm's "Nation of Whiners" remark.

Comments (0)

Post a comment