Drs. McCain and Gramm Put the U.S. Economy on the Couch; Gramm Diagnoses a “Mental Recession” Among U.S. “Whiners”

Here in California, it does feel that people do have mental recession…I do agree that media drumbeat for many years projecting recession finally did it.
I

John McCain / In touch with the average American. Phil Grammm who helped create the forclosure problem, thanks for the material. Slam him Obama…

Its true what McCain says. We have not been in a recession for over 10 years. As a matter of fact the economy has been booming and the stocks have been booming.
But everyday you turn on the news you hear the toss phrase RECESSION. Its like if you say it enough it will happen and you can say see i predicted it.

Is John McCain Insane??? People losing their homes, jobs, being screwed over by the credit card company’s etc…. This isn’t made up, its real and its amazing to think some rich Republican actually thinks that its all psychological. Psychologically people can’t fill their gas tanks, feed their children, have a home, work for a decent wage, this has to be real stuff. I’m floored to hear such an asinine response from someone who wants to be the leader of this country.

Every time I need to gas up and I receive a healthcare bill I’m not depressed – I’m pi#####!

If you tell someone that there is a problem over and over and over, guess what, they will start to believe it. The news media did it back when Bush 1 ran for his second term and it worked, Bill was elected and suprise suprise, there was nothing wrong with the economy.People are soooo gullible, it is really funny except for the fact that this time they are trying to get Obama elected and he really will destroy our economy.

This show that McCain does not understand the economic and the many harships that common workers are facing each day. I understand that McCain doing quite with his wife enormous wealth, but there some of us who think that sufferings are not mental problem.

Wow, McCain just proves what an out-of-touch elitist he is. He thinks gas is 2.50 because he hasn’t filled a tank in 5 years, and he thinks we’re all a bunch of whiners for feeling the pinch of inflation on everything from bread to beer, but that’s hard for him to see from 30,000 feet in his private jet.

So McCain blames the economy on the American people not the government in charge. Sounds like something Bush would say, doesn’t it. Those two become more alike everyday. God, is there a republican in the world that’s capable of accepting responsibility? Apparently not, certainly not McBush.

so much for compassionate conservatism… more proof that the billionaires in the GOP don’t care about the rest of us.

The guy who said this is probably a complete idiot who does not think about people as human beings. He should go to the grocery store and buy a week worth of groceries or put gas in his truck. Being a banker he is probably so rich someone drives him to work and purchases and cooks food for him. The economy is bad and it is very hard for families to buy what they need and have health insurance. Those are real human statistics who cares about the “numbers” Our corporations may dominate and their shareholder spread around the world reap the benefits, but the average person in the USA just gets shat on.
If people are interested they should google how unemployment and inflation are calculated in the USA. You be shocked at how ridiculously misleading the numbers are. It is probably one of the factors leading to the misery when the government basically lies. Look up the calculations they are crazy. It will make you more depressed.

yeah, the credit meltdown, housing market crash and skyrocketing gas prices are all in our heads… what a bunch of crap. Obama may be questionable, but McCain is completely out of touch…

It’s true. You see kids in the hood with expensive cellphones. some recession. The people who bought homes thinking they would flip them are hurting because they were greedy and stupid.

This is another one of McCain’s sick jokes again, right??? Like “bomb,bomb,bomb, Iran”, or “kill the Iranians with cigarettes”. Let’s see, just how can I psychologically fill my gas tank so I can go to the grocery and decide which luxury food I buy this week, macaroni and cheese, or hamburger helper, and then hope I have enough gas left to get to work for the rest of the week.

People bought gas guzzling SUVs -their choice
People bought homes they could not afford trying to flip them -their choice.
$4 gas is tough, but it doesn’t make it a recession.

Well, it’s official. I must vote left the next election. I just can’t get past a housing bubble, gas that is ridiculous and expensive grocery trips being blamed on “how I precieve it.” This man must live in a bubble. There is good reason we feel pinched and it’s not all because of what we read. If this is what John thinks needs to be his top ear on the economy – I’m out. Give me somebody that at least gets there’s reason to worry.

We all know the economy isn’t bad for Phil Gramm and the company that he keeps. For the average American it is pretty rough right now. Just showing once again how out of touch the rich are to the poor and middle class.

I am appauled that anyone running for the president would be so stupid as to pretend that the failing economy is not that bad when in fact it is much worse than we are being told and the empiracle evidence is everywhere. They are deliberately trying to tellus not to believe what is true but to belive their lie. We aren’t as gullible as that and they are too stupid to recognize that. Not presidential material and exactly why the repugnant and arrogant Republicans are going down in a landslide come November. What a gigantic embarrassment they are -WOW to think they deliberately want to hoodwink you into their delusion. They see us as stupid sheep they can manipulate even in the face of their brazen delusionary lies. It is the end times I’m sure of it now!

How glad I am to find out that the loss of 400,000 jobs was merely a figment of my imagination.

meerschum, the people that were in the great depression knew the meaning of hard work and living within your means, somthing that has been lost today. This is the all about me generation and the Govt. owes me generation. High fuel prices is the only thing right now that could hurt the economy and possibly put us in a recession (not a depression). Times may get tougher than what they are now but nothing compared to what our grand parents went through.

Sorry to burst your BUBBLE John McCain. The economy is very bad out here in the real world, and it appears to be getting worse.
But why should we expect you to understand since you and your wife are filthy rich?

gina, do you think unions have had anything to do with the problems Michigan is having? I live in a state that is booming because we are letting business know they can come here and be competitive.

What!!! Then what is the rampant inflation in my family’s core expenditures (food, property tax, heating bills, gas, electricity)? My imagination? My family lives well within its middle class means with a small house and car, however, now we are able to save much less than in the past for retirement and college for our children.
The issue of SAVINGS is the issue that will hit middle class families 10 years from now.

This nation was built by whiners, thank you very much. And what makes Phil Gramm think he can win votes by insulting people’s perceptions? I guess that kind of political acuity is what makes him a *former* senator. FYI Phil-baby: The biggest neurotic exercise anyone is engaging in here is that old Republican standard, the Denial Shuffle. And boy oh boy, can you and McSame dance!

eyeonyou: Ron Paul wasn’t evil, but you are right the rest are garbage.

Thanks McSame and Gramm. You just gave Barack something else to hammer you with. Barack gets closer and closer to the presidency every time you open your mouth.
Its the economy stu…oh nevermind.

If I had a spouse as rich as McCain’s, I guess higher prices wouldn’t affect me much either. Unfortunately, I live in the real world. I’m working too hard to pay extra for animal feed, groceries and gas (inflation!) to have any time to whine.

Obama said he hopes gas prices keep going up.
Go vote for Obama he wants gas prices to go up.
He is the elitist.
His advisor called ohio voters obsessed with trade.

After reading all the post so far, I think that the people who are hurting are whiners and the people who can afford stuff blames the people who are hurting for the problems that we are dealing with today…and not to mention those kids in the hood with expensive cell phones. So, people who are feeling the pinch quit being so negative and things will be all better. *shake my head*
What a pathetic view McCain and his elites has of the crisis facing this country.

Well there you have it…all you whiners…Think only happy thoughts as you fill up and buy groceries and all your problems will go away.I think a gongo line at the unemployment office will make everyonre fell better too. I’m going to trap some sunshine in a jar today and see how much it will get me at the pumps.

I never thought that this election was going to be close. Now I’m convinced it’s going to be a LANDSLIDE victory for Obama. The other day it was the “Let the cigarettes kill the Iranians” while his wife poked him in the back, and now this. Is it any wonder that mc-more-war finished at the bottom of his college class?

McCain has said many times how much people are hurting.
McCain holds open town halls with real people.
Obama refuses to hold town halls with real people.
McCain is always saying how people are hurting.
Obama wants gas prices to keep going up.
Obama said he hopes gas prices keep going up.
Obama is the elitist.
Obama is against anything to lower gas prices.
Obama is the elitist that refuses to drill for natural gas.
Obama is against a gas tax break.
Obama said he is fine with gas prices going up.
Obama said he is fine with gas prices going up.
I hate this campaign .
Go vote for Obama.
You people don’t know McCain.
McCain is a good man who has been smeared.
I hate this election

Only a Republican would say something like this. Whether we are whinning or not perception is reality! The people are what makes this economy work and if the people believe there is a recession then there is a recession. I can’t believe someone that wants to LEAD this country can be so insensitive as to surround himself with people that believe this. Mr. McCain we are not all millionaires that can whether this. Maybe your new campaign slogan should be: LET THEM EAT CAKE!!! I don’t care what the facts are. I believe we are ion a recession and I am acting accordingly – - – BY VOTING DEMOCRAT!!!

Obama is the elitist.
Obama is the one who says he wants gas prices to continue to go up.
Obama on a CNBC interview said he hopes gas prices keep going up.
Please please don’t vote for Obama because of Phil Gramm.
McCain always talks about how americans are hurting.
McCain is proposing real solutions to lower gas prices.
Obama wants gas prices to keep going up.
Obama said he is fine with gas prices going up.

If John McCain and Phil Gramm after 6 months or more of talking to Americans and trying to see what they want in the next president and with John supposedly listening to our needs, to come out and make such a ridiculous and blaming statement that we are psyco-depressed and that things are really not that bad, well this man is certainly delusional and mentally not fit to be anything let alone president. He might as well just conceed now because he has no change of ever winning the election.

Steve – McCain’s town hall meetings have what 25 people in them. Please.

I have never commented on a blog. I am a conservative, but have been struggling with voting for John McCain. His recent comments regarding the economy have pushed me over the edge. I will not be voting this next election. It reminds me of Marie Antoinette when told that the peasants have no bread and she replied “then let them eat cake”!

Jenny, I am from Alabama and Bush has nothing to do with $4.00 gas. As far as NAFTA it was Bill Clinton (a democrat) who signed that deal which I am not opposed to but a lot of people want to blame. Look at the numbers on the economy, we are not in a recession yet. I understand people on a fixed income are hurting because of higher gas and food prices(alternative fuel driving that one) but Obamas plan is to raise your taxes and taxes on small business, how will that help the economy? If he is elected he will make Jimmy Carter look like a economic guru.

Obama got a sweetheart deal for his home from Tony Rezko.
Who is the elitist.
Obama bought his home from land from Rezko while he was under investigation.
Obama saved $ 300,000 on his home from Tony Rezko while Rezko was under investigation.
Obama gets a sweetheart land deal for a crook.
The Obama’s are elitist.
McCain donates all his book money to charity.
Obama pockets all the book money.
McCain donates all his senate salary raises to charity.
Obama pockets it.

billy bob – You are right Obama is terrible on spending. You are incorrect however in saying that Bush has nothing to do with gas prices. Wars especially in the middle east make gas prices skyrocket, always have. I also must believe Ron Paul when he says we are in a recession already. I respect the man tremendously because he tells the truth.

Mental recession? Tell that to my gas tank.

63tango, go back and read the article, McCain never said that the public was to blame due to their whining. He only said their perception of a bad economy was part of the problem.

Elsiha – just what do you suggest people who are barely able to put gas in the car, buy groceries and pay bills purchase and with what? When you have to worry about wheter or not you have enough money to put gas in the car this week and whether or not you will have a job next week you do not shop. It is that simple.

Richard, increasing taxes on small business will be a disastor for the economy and will bring inflation into the picture. dl, the idiot is the one who make allegations without a shred of proof. Where is your proof?

Elite’ist…..wonder who makes the most money…..rank them pls…Obama, McCain and Bush……

What an elitist! We’re whiners ’cause we can’t feed our families?
Out-of-touch John!

What would anybody expect from the man for was part of the Keating 5? People, lest you forget, McCain stole millions of your dollars in the savings an loan scandal. MILLIONS.

So McCain’s top economic adviser thinks that Americans are “whiners”.
Very interesting…

J
Gramm is a spokesperson…a LEADING economic advisor for McCain…
and McCain did say this recession was “psychological”
I know it hurts to hear if you are McCain …and living in the real world where people are losing their jobs and trying to figure how to pay the co-pay at their kids dentist and feed a family of 4 or 5… while doing all these things…
and jump around the lan mines of mortgage issues…
all the while he is saying this is “Psychological” and his leading economic advisor (a rich guy like himself and Bushy) is saying that Americans are whiners.
so stop “psychological” is far and away bad enough.

BillyBob: What was the price of gas in 2003…..and today??

It’s only a mental recession to those who don’t actually have to go grocery shopping, pump their own gas or buy diapers. Even well off families I know are pinching their pennies. High gas prices, milk prices and produce prices are real and not a figment of our imagination or something the media has drummed into our heads.

J
Mccain said several times that this recession was “psychological”
read.

j – McCain did joke about bombing the people of Iran and killing them with cigarettes. The Dean scream pales in comparison. That’s good enough for me. I don’t blame him for what Gramm says just as I don’t blame Obama for what Jackson says.

Americans are whiners. Americans of today could never win a war like WWII. They could never make sacrifices as was needed to win. The media along with the Democrats have seen to this. When you are told every day how bad things are and how inept we are as a country what do you people will act like. I say it is about time we as Americans get of our lazy whining butts and take care of business. Why should what anybody else thinks or says stop anyone from succeeding?

A McCain official tells First Read: “Phil Gramm’s comments are not representative of John McCain’s views. John McCain travels the country every day talking to Americans who are hurting, feeling pain at the pump and worrying about how they’ll pay their mortgage. That’s why he has a realistic plan to deliver immediate relief at the gas pump, grow our economy and put Americans back to work

Ben, I have listened to Ron Paul and for the most part he is cluless, why do you think he cannot even come close to getting elected, he is in left field.

Ben be a realist, Ron Paul is irrelevent and supporting him will not help the country, a third party is not going to happen in my lifetime so i choose to work to change the party that has the best plan for the country, whoever that party is. This time around it is not Obama, he will be a disastor if elected.

Yeah, vote McCain! Unbelievable! Now they are trying to convince us that its all in our heads? Unemployment, jobs sent overseas, foreclosures, this administration trying to force doctors to quit treating the elderly so they can all die, children killing children in the streets, 2 losing wars going on, money the U.S. does not have being spent on 2 lost wars, China being allowed to poison us, etc., etc, etc. Yeah, its all in our heads alright. The prood is in the pudding and this pudding is rotten. GWB should have been impeached a long time ago. Anyone that votes republican in November deserves exactly what they get if the GOP wins, and that won’t be fun.

Whats the problem?
Simply marry a multi-millionaire heiress who inherited a fortune from her father. It worked for John McCain.

J
A McCain official tells First Read: “Phil Gramm’s comments are not representative of John McCain’s views. John McCain travels the country every day talking to Americans who are hurting, feeling pain at the pump and worrying about how they’ll pay their mortgage. That’s why he has a realistic plan to deliver immediate relief at the gas pump, grow our economy and put Americans back to work
J I was in the town hall in exeter nh
I was there when he was giving a q and a in manchester…
He focused on Iran adn the scary talk of dangerous leaders … and how we needed to “protect” ourselves…
right out of the 2004 playbook…
then when he talked for the small amount of time in ratio about the economy it was in a tone of “don’t blow this out of proportion” and “the dems are going to raise taxes”
and let the markets work out the problems with the healthcare and housing for the most part.
so don’t say this isn’t in the realm of the Mccain platform…
just when it is worded this way they realize Americans won’t like it.

Where have we heard this before?
That’s right, the Republicans said the housing problem was in Americans head. After months of things getting worse, the Republican response was to give a huge bailout to companies and nothing to the people.
The Republican party needs to re-read the US Constitution. It does not read, “We the corporate executives…”.
Bob Barr has read it. Most of the Republican party has forgot it. Leaders like McCain, Gramm, and Bush have disgraced the US Constitution. Even today, McCain and Bush allow Rove to ignore a Congressional subpoena.

the economy and gas prices will only get worse with obama in the whitehouse.
more taxes and more government is not the solution, socialists. Socialism will destroy this country. Maybe that’s what many of you want. Then you can rebuild it to resemble what castro did to Cuba

Dan – I am going with Barr this go around. He seems to have some good ideas. He has changed positions on a few, but at least he owns up to it.

@eyeonyou: Actually I want the gas prices to go up (you can say that I’m not in my right mind now, but please read on just a little). I would like to see income and capital gains taxes go away and be replaced by higher taxes on oil and gas and virgin wood, etc. In a simple example, imagine your income taxes went down $1,000, that is $1,000 more in your take home pay, but extra taxes on gas equal $1,000. If you didn’t change your lifestyle at all, you would be economically unaffected. But if you conserved, drove less, bought a car with better gas mileage, etc., you would be better off. Less oil/gas used. Less greenhouse gases. No silly cap-n-trade system. Less money goes to oil producing countries that are funding terrorists. It really is win win win but gas prices will be higher.

Big business runs this country anayway. The president is a figurehead to make the people feel better.

so what’s your solution…follow the path laid out by the village idiot or change course and look to do something different….

@ ben – thank you. I believe in this system because it holds true to a lot of values of the left (environmentalism) and it holds true to a lot of values of the right (minimizing governments role, reducing taxes, keeping money out of terrorists supporting countries). It combines the “Fair Tax” (from Huckabee) and “Carbon Tax”.

X marks the spot – Absolutely correct. Reducing fraud and waste is one of the best ways to reduce the earth’s warming if we assume man has a significant impact. I don’t know if we are responsible, but I do my part to conserve as a responsible member of society. By the way Huckabee was also the only presidential candidate to overtly push for excersize and healthy eating habits as a way to help fix the healthcare crisis. Pretty progressive in that sense.

10 years ago the town i live in had 8 factories now it has two 10 years ago the town 25 miles north of my town had 6 factories they have none. gas is double there is over 45,000,000 nation wide with no health insurance factories closeing faster then a starbucks and you say no recession i say we are in recession and almost in a great depression and if mccain gets elected we will go head long into a massive depression. now i am not saying obama will get us out of this recession but i know that mccain will keep up the same policies that got us here.

Frieda:
You didn’t finish your post a 10:03:43, so it’s hard to tell where you are going with this,
California has long been ahead of most, if not all, of the nation in gas prices, and we are now suffering quite real pain as our housing market is tanking and foreclosures are increasing every day. The number of “bank owned” for sale signs is a clear indication, along with a significant jobless rate, that this problem is very, very real.
And McBush isn’t going to fix it — not with advisors like Gramm and Fiorina (who lies outright about McBush’s position on RoevWade.
Obama 2008 — Yes, WE CAN!!!

seah “Obama kept telling you how bad you had it over and over and over until you beleived, the more he he got to believe the less people spent.” Nope, I began to believe the economy was in trouble when gas hit $4>00 a gallon,groceries went ballistic (I am talking Store brand stuff here.), the loddy Of our Dept of Labor where I thankfully work filled to over flowing and four of our major employers went out of business. This left several hundre people jobless. People with education, skills and sometime 20 years of service to a particular company. That is when I began to believe the economy was in trouble.

look at the states that have the worst economies. run by democrats. don’t figure. michigan and calyfornia. by the way arnold isn’t a republican. he’s a democrat with an identity crisis. if we want the rest of the country to resemble calif. and mich lets elect Osama. oops. Obama

Whiners hey?
We’ll see who’s whining after the presidential election.

Ben Straub .
Obama will just be another long list of LOSERS to endorsement the Democratic candidate in 2012

The fact is that the agenda-driven media are hyping the ‘bad’ economy a great deal more than necessary, and they do it knowing full well that they are shaping the perception of the masses.
When Bush was running for his first term, democrats accused him of ‘talking down’ the economy. For them now to deny that the MSM can’t have such an effect is ludicrous. And the economy is not in recession, or in as bad a shape as the dems and their pals in the press would have us believe.

squeenter – um, nice try. but’s it’s pretty clear that you republicans are the ones who are in denial about the actual state of the economy. Ever notice that whenever a Republican is out of rational arguments they start blaming the media? Get a clue, dude.

yeah, insulting the american people is a great strategy for winning votes, there, mr. mccain. good luck with that. meanwhile, i’ll still be paying an “imaginary” $4.00/gallon to gas up my car.

So McBush thinks we are all whiners??? Well wait until November 4 and see who the whiners are..And on January 20, 2009 when they take Bush out of the White HOuse in handcuffs..McBush was in the bottom 1% of his class at the Naval Academy and BUSH was in the bottom 1% of his class at Yale. Do we need more of the same?????

geevil – nice try, but you forgot stagnant wages, inflation, devalued currency, the credit meltdown, medium home prices declining for the first time in decades, etc. We are on the knife edge of a recession if we aren’t already in one yet.

Like i said get over it. Who does not have more cell phones in their family than 10 years ago. Who does not have a big screen tv now with high definition now. And how many tv’s are in your house now. WHAT DO WHINERS WANT NOW> Oh just shut off your central air now.

Do nothing with the economy?
Sounds like Herbert Hoover! Look where that
took us.
Regarding the character that stated that we are
still paying the lowest cost for fuel in the world.
This is because the other nations he is
referring to, either subsidize the fuel or
give royalties for it.

Obama said to CNBC he is fine with gas prices going up.

Somebody in the press needs to ask McCain whether he stands by those remarks, and if not, whether he will denounce them.

If anyone thinks Obama’s massive borrowing to fund his government giveaways is going to ease America’s economic burden, you’re sadly mistaken. His enormous tax hikes still won’t pay for everything he wants to do. But you can bet your bottom dollar that a Dem-controlled Congress won’t say no to any of his handouts, no matter how fiscally irresponsible they are. Which means more borrowing and more debt.
Too many Americans ARE whiners because we’ve been spoiled rotten by having everything we want right now. Anyone who hasn’t been laid off isn’t helping those who have been by moaning about how horrible the outlook is.
Gas prices and corn-based ethanol are to blame for most of our rising food costs. The Democrats love ethanol and refuse to drill here at home, so a vote for Obama is a vote for even higher gas prices to come.

hoosiersue
that is downright false…
it is McCain who will continue borrowing money…
go look at who this guy Gramm is…
this guy gramm who is McCain’s co-chair and sr. economic advisor.
go look at what he has done
enron
mortgage meltdown
oil speculation
banking lobby
one name comes up at the CENTER with all of these…Gramm.
Mccain didn’t care then but now that every day Americans are going to learn who his Co-Chair and Sr. Economic advisor is…
this is a done deal…
the McCain campaign DID NOT want a light on this guy.

I dare them to come to Nevada, where we have the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Come see what it’s really like Johnnie.

MCain and Gramm do not think it’s bad because it’s not bad for them. When I saw the looks on the faces of the people filling their tanks in my middle class neighborhood this morning, I knew the truth. And so does the American public.

MCCAIN CAMP DENOUNCED THESE REMARKS.
GRAMM SPEAKS HIS OWN MIND.
THIS IS MCARTHYISM.
MCCAIN DIDN’T SAY THESE REMARKS AND REPUDIATED THEM.
THE ELECTION SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE CANDIDATES.
OBAMA REFUSED TO HOLD TOWN HALLS WITH MCCAIN TO HEAR THE CONCERNS OF VOTERS.
OBAMA DOESN’T WANT TO TAKE THE CHANCE HE CAN GET ALL THE MAGAZINE COVERS AND PUFF PACKAGE PIECES ABOUT HIM.
IF OBAMA HAD ACCEPTED THE TOWN HALLS WITH MCCAIN THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON THE CANDIDATES INSTEAD OF GRAMM AND JESSE JACKSON.

Does anyone out there still remember the depression of the 30′s? I do.
President Herbert Hoover said almost exactly the same things in 1929 at a time when most Americans were out of jobs. FDR succeeded him, acknowledged the economic times and took decisive actions to begin curing the problem. One of them was closing the banks for a period of time.
According to Gram/McCain, because they are not affected (yet) at their economic level, everything is rosy. and this is the “experience” they champion. God save us from that “experience”.
I hope Obama makes hay with these comments.

Obama and the liberals are living in the fear. No wonder they always lose. Fear mongers always lose

ALL economics is psychological. It’s the science of rational choice and human behavior. It’s not a freaking weather pattern. That doesn’t mean, “Courtney,” that’s there’s no such thing as a bad economy. There sure is, and we’re in it. Is it exclusively Dubya’s fault? Not by a long shot. Has his lack of leadership and innovative public investment caused some of the imbalance, it sure freaking has. Is it also the fault of the American people, top to bottom, yes. Is it unbelievably stupid for a billionaire to tell the American people they are whining on the brink of a recession (which has a definition, by the way, which we are about to meet) while running a political campaign? Oh yeah. No kidding if Obama pulls off EVERY single program he’s proposed it would strain the economy. When was the last time a President pulled off their entire platform? Please. He’s drubbed for being “all talk” and then for coming up with too many proposals. McCain’s ignore it and throw candy at the people isn’t going to cut it this go round.

The reason the economy looks good to the so-called “non-liberals” is because we are throwing more money out to help our economy look strong. Sure we’re growing economically—because we HAVE to spend more to survive. We can’t live without food and (food and gas prices go up, resulting in the economy looking stronger because more money is being spent on items that have doubled or tripled in price). People are getting laidoff, factories are closing everyday, people can’t afford to buy the extras in life! Yes, the economy sucks! I’m living paycheck to paycheck these days! I’m voting for McCain in hopes that he will address the economy. I can’t vote for Obama because there’s just something I don’t trust about him. But those of you out there who think the economy is doing well need to wake up. Look around!

Hey McCain, go ahead and tell
every one of your followers that this is
“psychological”. This is exactly was Bush
did a couple of years ago, when he told
his fellow republicans to buy HUMMERS
and SUV’s. I have a republican friend who
was a follower, that is kicking himself silly
for that wonderful advice. By the way, He
has it parked in the back yard these days
and is think of making it into a bird bath!

Say what? Graham is given credit for destablizing mortgages? What are you smoking? The mortgage crisis is the result of interested rates being to low to long……which predated Bernacke and falls squarely on ALAN GREENSPAN, who btw number one employer now is a huge mortgage shorter that made billions $$$$$ when the housing market busted. Hello!!! Are you listening? And to aid Greenspan out, we had greedy stupid lenders just allowing anyone no matter how bad their credit or undocumented their finances were take out loans which soon caused a rush of borrowers apply for and receiving loans that they could not repay their loans or that never bother to pay to bills their before.

The premise of this article is very interesting. The entire argument revolves around whether or not Americans’ believe that we are in a recession. Well from my point of view, that’s all it takes. When Americans’ confidence goes down, so does the economy. I.E. the great depression, the late 80′s stock crash, and now. That is how we are in a recession, and just because one rich Politician isn’t being hurt doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. It also doesn’t hurt that this comment came out of Texas, which is still growing while every other state goes down the tube. Thanks a lot Bush, you’re 3rd grade economics have really done us in.

I will love it when Exxon decides to not to sell oil to America any more because oft WHINERS

Shawn, for the love of God, man, think about this:
“I’m voting for McCain in hopes that he will address the economy. I can’t vote for Obama because there’s just something I don’t trust about him. But those of you out there who think the economy is doing well need to wake up. Look around!”
From your own statement, it is McCain’s top economic advisor who needs to “wake up.” Not to mention, McCain himself! What is it that you don’t “trust” about Obama? If it’s the obvious, however, spare us, since it’s not worth a discussion.

The MEGA RICH, do not know about how the rest of us have to live, this one, should illustrate that point, quite well. Old rich white guy, and other rich people, who never feel the pain, that the rest of us do, will never understand the plight of the middle class. If they can never understand it, how can you expect them to fix it?

Phil Graham is the guy who wrote the “Enron Loophole”…and he’s a McCain economic advisor…looks bad no matter what you say. Now this multi-millionaire says it all in our heads. This is McCain’s election to lose…and he’s not doing anything to win it. I sure miss Hillary.

Yes… It is mental economic depression. It’s all in your mind. Ignore that remark about the US dollar not being worth anything more than wallpaper. Ignore the fact that inflation is out of control. Ignore that so-called mortgage crisis caused by seedy lending deals. Ignore those remarks about 401K’s invested in 2nd hand mortgages hitting the tank. Let us all give a collective sigh of relief that the stories about OPEC abandoning the US dollar to quote oil prices in Euros and thereby force every country to sell their dollars to buy euros so they can buy oil is a fake. It is all a figment of an American imagination. Personally, I hope that fool never makes it to the FED.

What is McCain talking about? All in my head? So when the gas company calls to shut off my heat this winter, I can tell them its all in their head too? That Im not really behind, it just “looks” that way? Good greif! What an idiot! People are loosing jobs, companies are closing,and food costs as well as gosoline are rising. I dont see our paycheck rising along with these obsticles. Mccain is simply out of touch with the rest of us. Try living in montana Mr. McCain and see just how easy it is to “catch a bus” somewhere! Lol Get a clue!

John McCain certainly isn’t in a recession. His wife is worth a few hundred million. So of course he’s saying it’s all in your head. It really is. In his head, he’s rich. QED.

this is what we get for continually allowing those of financial privilege to run/govern this country.
They can’t see the forest through the trees, nor do they want to.
Term limits….we need term limits.
Vote McCain and nothing will change – except the china at the White House

Phil Gramm never net a millionaire that he though couldn’t benefit from the transfer of money from middle-working class to then. If you don’t make $200,000 each year you are the target for Republicans.

At best Graham is one of hundreds that signed a bill and was one of the many co-sponsors….A bill that doesn’t specfically state anything about Enron…..lol talk about grasping at straws.

He’s right. Tough love and straight talk is something we haven’t had enough of these days. Very refreshing. I for one, am tired of certain politicians telling me how tough and unfair life is.

To McBush & Gramm–do America a favor & take your millions and go home & shut up. I never voted for Gramm because unlike most voters, I do study their records. I didn’t vote for Bush because I studied his record in Texas although uninformed family members did. Because of the last 8 yrs, they now study & will be very informed of each candidate this election season. Give Obama a chance, he’s the only intelligent one we have.

I don’t see how they can say the economy is good. The only real growth there can be is petroleum and that is in the form of higher domestic prices making the majority less well off.
Regional malls are losing my business because it doesn’t make sense to burn $8 of gas to save $5 on underwear. (I do wash my underwear so don’t worry folks)

Just when I was thinking of not voting for Obama, the Republicans remind me exactly why we need to be rid of their arrogance and economic incompetence. Thank you, Mr. Gramm – you saved me from making a massive, massive mistake. I’ll take my chaces with the new guy instead the same old Republican crooks who’ve been driving our economy into the ground for decades!

I am a registered Independent because my beliefs lean to both Democratic and Republican on most issues. I have struggled for months over who would get my vote. I used to truly admire John McCain, but I have come to disagree with much of what he’s said in the past year. As for Obama, his inexperience concerns me greatly and his inability to present a solid plan of action does little to win my vote.
My husband and I make a decent living, we both work and have one child in daycare, we don’t drive fancy cars or SUVs, don’t take vacations and live in a small house. This is why it is so difficult for me to understand how we are facing the very real prospect that one of us will have to get a second job just to pay our bills because gas, groceries, daycare, healthcare and no raises for the past several years have made what I think is a good income just not enough.
How can John McCain possibly justify this stance on the economy? The gap between the rich and the rest of us continues to grow and I fear that with the elitest and wealthy government we have elected, there will be no closing it in the future. Unless someone can change my mind soon, my vote will be for the lesser of two evils…and isn’t that truly sad?

You guys are whining, at least the ones who say “I haven’t gotten a raise in 8 years,” or “I can’t go to the movies”…to the first…that’s your own fault. Quit your job, get a different one (you should have about 7 years ago, the way it sounds). Can’t get a better job? Perhaps that has something to do with you? Movies, eating out, etc are luxuries. If money is tight, you don’t do them. WE ARE NOT ACTUALLY IN A RECESSION. Yes, prices are going up on food and gas. Yes, there are foreclosures that are, for the most part, no one’s fault but the borrowers. However, there is still growth in the economy and new jobs being created, therefore, we are NOT in a recession. Unemployment actually was lower this past quarter than projected. You people are whining. Instead of whining, do something about your problems. Nothing in life is free…and that isn’t just talking about money. You have to work to get anything. I sense a feeling of entitlement, and it’s unbecoming of anyone.

Are these people out of their freaking minds!!! I’m a very hard worker, and not the sort of person that gives up at all. The recession has totally taken it toll on my work. My phone used to ringing off the hook, now nothing. I finally got a gig after knocking on client’s doors again and again. Yeah, the rich creeps have it easy because they are protected by the jerks they voted in. America, it’s time to get rid of these losers–if we don’t there will only be the rich and the poor.

I’m not one of those people who thinks every recession is a media conspiracy, but the media’s reporting over the last year or so on the economy has been shameless. They are doing everything they can to paint a dismal economic picture. How many of us have actually lost jobs or taken a pay cut because of the economy? Percentage-wise, very few. Where I live, at least, the stores have never been busier on weekends. That’s because the economy is GROWING.

No matter what anyone calls what we are going through, the lower and middle class are feeling the crunch now more than ever. I live within my means, drive a normal car, and pay my bills as needed. At 25 making what I make I should be able to put money in my savings every pay check.

The Mc Cain campaign just shot itself in the foot. Even if they are correct, the voters do not want to hear that. As an advisor told Harry Truman about winning the presidential election “It’s the economy, stupid!” I agree that the economy is not as bad as the media implies, but there are some challenges and Mc Cain’s camp should not be dismissive of them, or he will lose.

Totally out of touch. Is McCain wanting more than a landslide defeat? Poor judgment on advisers McCain. Gramm is poison.

Prime example about why I will never vote Republican again. They just don’t get it….you can argue about semantics all you want about whether we are in a recession or not but to say folks are whining about it just shows the lack of appreciation for the distress folks are experiencing…

Jobs are being loss. Gas and energy prices are rising. Food prices are rising. People are feeling the pinch in their pockets. Etc.
To say this is just a ‘mental recession’ is a bunch of BS on the Repubs part. Anyone who now believes McCain will be a good prez have to be blind to what this guy is saying. What kind of idiots do he think we are?! I’m not going to be voting for this Bush wannabe at all.

You guys are a bunch of whiners! All of you had an opportunity somewhere in life to get an education and to make something of yourselves, if you can’t afford gas it certainly isn’t McCain’s fault. It is your fault. America has become a nation of victims. We blame the mortgage companies for bad loans when we didn’t ask any questions before we signed the papers, only how much is the payment? We want government to give us everthing from food to healthcare, yet we don’t want to increase taxes. We blame the President for everthing and he has almost nothing to do with passing laws except to sign them. We as a nation have become a pathetic bunch, all we want todo is to blame someone else for our problems. If a black man from a single parent family from Chicago can run for president in a country that once enslaved his people then you folks should be able to get by just fine. If times are tough, sell the boat and downsize like I did. Get over it and take responsibility for yourselves.

Maybe Mccain should spend a few days with a middle class family, instead of going to Iraq.

McCain can’t even lift up his arms to comb his hair ….which doesn’t make him any more or less qualified to become president.
The fact that he is clueless about the state of our economy and what to do about it is the reason McCain would make a lousy president.

McCain and Gramm don’t have a clue how much it takes to fill up the family car or buy a month’s worth of groceries.
And that’s what matters.

MikeMo1947
Thank you, can you please spend the rest of your days repeating this information so everyone in the world hears it?

To Lee-usa:
You said that McCain doesn’t have a clue as to what it takes to fill up a car with gas. You think Obama does? When all else fails – go with experience.

When what you’re doing isn’t working, try something different. And trust the guy who said the old way wasn’t going to work even before you tried it.

I think its funny that Americans think their economy is in a recession. Most of these Americans have never traveled beyond the border and seen the “real” world. I am an American working in Africa. There is a 40% unemployment rate here as food prices twice as expensive as the States. There are many countries paying much more than $4 a gallon for gas, but most Americans rather pout about “hardships” when they understand little about what a bad economy really is. Consider yourself well off, because there are much worse economies out there.
As for high gas prices, boo-hoo, walk or ride a bike. This is a good opportunity to get some exercise, loose some weight, stay healthy, and save money.

Kaycie – so you’d be happy to see the American standard of living decline to African standards? If that’s what you Republicans are offering, no thanks.

Getreal- You need to look at a social-capitalist country like France that has 35 hour work weeks, 6 weeks of vacation, universal heath care, government funded education, and a higher standard of living then the United States. Then he will be more inline with Obama’s views.

Katie in Texas: You have misinterpretted my words. The American economy is strong, regardless of what you read in the news. Most Americans continue to spend their money on luxury items, such as the lastest electronics and fashion. Here in Africe, the locals are forced to spend their money on necessities because of the bad economy. You do not know how good you have it, you take America for granted. I highly recommend you spend some time in a third world country, see what the world is really like.

michael I am not sure if your claim is accurate if in fact McCain disputed Gramm or not but I do know, I heard with my own ears, that Mcacin said the economy is a psychological problem and he also said he knows nothing about economics and some people are going to vote for him, how scary-who are these people

Kaycie, why are you working in Africa, isn’t there jobs in your own country? Please stay there, we Americans do like to live beyond our means and loved doing it but we managed til the repubs ruined it. Now the senate just approved help for those loosing their homes. I’m not sure yet if I approve of this until I’ve studied it. I’m not sure living beyond our means is to live in a $500,000 home when a $100,000 one was what would have been manageable. See, I lean to the left but don’t always agree with the far left. Vote Obama

People like the other Eric and the right wing talkers need to stop saying socialism and communism are the same. Do your research and stop listening to these idiots and make your own up your own mind.

Doomed – the reason there were riots is much like us they have a conservative movement taking people jobs away and not caring about the well being of the average citizen. Please stop quoting the Sean Insanity show and do some research so you can have an intelligent conversation

Gramm is right. This is a nation of whiners. McCain should state publicly that Gramm is right and tell people to quit whining and get to work.

Ricky says “McCain says a lot of our economic problems are “psychological?” Is that like Carter’s malaise thing. Whose next term IS he running for anyway”
Uh Ricky, It is the exact opposite of Carter’s malaise thing. Carter was telling everyone how miserable things were, McCain is saying things are not as a bad as they are made ou tto be. McCain is right.

As a Libertarian, I loathe McCain (he hates us for our freedoms) but on this, he is absolutely right.
Worse, we’ve become a nation of Bob Wileys (What About Bob?) crying, “Gimme gimme gimme, I need I need I need!”
The American people have no dignity or self-respect anymore, thanks to the Dems’ pandering, redistribution of wealth and the bribing of the electorate with our tax dollars.
The fact of the matter is, everything they “give” us in return for our hard-earned money sucks, yet Americans clamor for more. Idiots. They would do better for themselves, by themselves, if we were all “allowed” to keep more of our own income.
Suck it up and DIY, America!
VOTE ALL THE BUMS OUT! VOTE LIBERTARIAN!

Getreal, Let me see if I understand what you are saying, anyone who wants to vote for Obama and fix the things that are wrong with the country they love in a “America Hater” or is “posing as an American”, but anyone who has posted at least 10 times without a single fact or statistic (like you) is someone we should be listening to.

If these comments were so dead on people, how come McCain is distancing himself?

McCain is right – only in America do we call a radio talk show on our cell phone from our car while waiting in the drive through for our burger and fries to complain about the economy.
Buying a house you cant afford then losing it when the payment kicks in is not a bad economy – its a bad decision!
I’m sick of the media running down the economy and seeing my 401(k) tank because of it.

Anyone who thinks the troubles are not real is kidding themselves. Gas has doubled in price in the last 18 months and food costs are spiraling upward. For the average American, food and gas are two of the basic necessities of life, and when the cost skyrockets, it hurts. It hurts badly when you cannot feed your family.
Stacy — the forclosures are not all on McMansions in FL and NV and CA. Read the news — the forclosure rate is worst in Ohio and my home state of Michigan. These are not upper middle class people who bought too much house, these are working families who can no longer make ends meet due to massive inflation and a lack of quality jobs.
I am not hearing whining, I am hearing anger with 8 years of policies that resulted in the most massive transfer of wealth from poor to rich in our nation’s history.
I am not a fan of handouts, but more fiscal common sense and policies that promote alternate energy technologies and thereby create good jobs for the future seems like a good start to me.

The “pyschological” comment is quite correct. Employment is essentially full by most historic economic measures. There still hasn’t been a single quarter of negative economic growth let alone the two that needs to qualify as a recession. Those are simply the facts. Americans are talking gloomy but their actions speak other words. Humans being humans, we all tend to believe the worst scenario.

Doxdox-I just moved backed to PA from OH last year. The neighborhood that I lived in had several foreclosures during the time I was there. Why? The builders gave people a “deal”. They paid their interest and taxes for the first three years they lived in their homes. Gee…..I wondered what happened after three years, the neighborhood had “record” foreclosures because people didn’t take responsibility for their own finances.
You can look at the world through your shaded glasses…it won’t get you anywhere and it won’t help bring you back from dispair either.

I love the way even the educated continue to blame a presidential administration while a Democratic congress has to give him whatever power he has at his disposal, which is very little in the big scheme of econonics and the way economy ebbs and flows. The real problem with the economy is the fact that the Citizens of this great nation live beyond their means and do not save anything for downturns when times are good. But,instead get filled with envy of thy neighbor and competes to see who can have the biggest and the best then when things slow down which is a natural cycle, they want to blame the government for not being able to make your payments. If we weren’t so obcessed with the mighty dollar we would have jobs. The industry would not have to move oversees for cheap labor and lower taxes and still be able to pay record shipping costs and save money

Sue- The Dems do have control of the house. Pelosie is the Speaker because the Dems have contol

The only whining I hear comes from people whining about “whiners”. When will we realize that the neo-cons are flagrantly projecting their own fears and weaknesses onto everyone else?

I realize that often peoples’s perceptions are not the same as the reality. However, with prices of food and gasoline (which affects so many other prices) rising rapidly, I think the recession is more than perception.

Now listen closley, there ARE more Dems in the House BUT they don’t have enough to overide Repubs & pres. veto

Dennis, look no further than the Farm Bill, biofuel mandates, Democrat opposition to drilling for our own oil, all for the secular religion known as Anthropogenic Global Warming.
“However, with prices of food and gasoline (which affects so many other prices) rising rapidly, I think the recession is more than perception.
Dennis | Jul 10, 2008 5:16:02 PM”

Distress over falling home values is the result of decades of propaganda by the banking, housing and real estate industries to make people think of their house as a commodity rather than as a home. If you are a housing speculator or a loan officer the falling price may be distressing. If you are a young family hoping to own a home, the falling prices are good news. If you don’t want your property taxes to go up year after year to keep up with the rising value of a home you never intend to sell, falling home prices are good news. If you just want to live in your home, so what.?
I grew up in a time that most Americans look back on as the middle class stable good old days, the 50′s. We were a family of seven in a small two bedroom house with a coal grate and stove that heated water. We had a milk cow for real, practical reasons, and we ate out maybe 2 times in my entire childhood. We were definitely NOT thought of as poor, and we didn’t feel poor. The poor people lived in a different neighborhood and were worse off than we were. We had nothing to whine about and we didn’t whine. So put a sock in it!

sueinTexas..The Dems do have the ability to veto the pres, however, when some of the dems vote across the aisle that is when they cannot get a veto! The Dems have the majority but not all Dems are dumb! Just most of them!

Most of the “indicators” have to do with the stock market, international trade, etc. Gas $4.50 a gallon, food up 25%, medical out of control, savings at a NET ZERO, 1st time in history, yah it’s ALL in our heads. Idiots. Kick these idiots out of office for God sakes America. GROW UP.

mfmros-yes we are spoiled, we work hard to live the good life. That’s why so many people risk their lives every day to come, live, & work in America. The problem now is THERE’S NO JOBS! If you make over $250,000 a yr under Obamas plan, you will feel a slight increase. If you work at a burger joint, or are old & poor, you wont be affected. Now which group do you belong? I’m retired and am doing ok but, as long as everyone doesn’t have job opportunities other than burger joints, we will all go down.

SuefromTexas…my husband and I are retiring in two months. He is 82 and I am 70! We both have worked hard all these years and saved for this retirement! We live in the same house that we raised 5 kids in and has been paid for since 89! We only eat out once a month, we do not live beyond our means, we trade our cars every 8 yrs and we do take vacations! We do not live beyond our means! Our generation did not live for the “day”! We planned for a future! Our vacations are taken in our backyard gardens with family and friends! Our vacation money was spent for a pool or new furniture when needed, and we live comfortably! These days kids spend what they make and charge when they don’t have the money! And when things get ugly they blame everyone else for their problems. Bankruptcies are higher than ever because people do spend what they don’t have and then stick it to their creditor! This generation is a bunch of people who think they are entitled and have right of passage! This country has become a country of whiners and the media has become our worst enemy! You can have the American dream but it is not FREE! You need to work for it and towards it! Hope that helps you!

Can you say President Barack Obama? And Obama’s and elitist huh? Obama’s out of touch huh? This is McCain’s top advisor on the economy. This is the guy that is going to get McCain up to speed on the economy. LOL!!!!!! All of you Obama haters out there in Repub/Conserv land can keep on hatin’. LOL!!!!!!!! I’m gonna ask President Obama if I can have a one match in that new B-ball court in the White House.
Obama 08!!!!!!!!

Dave in NYC whines:
“that is, 25-33% of the cost of gasoline is oil company profits.”
Dave in NYC needs to learn the difference between revenue and profit before he belittles the intelligence of others.
Do the math Dave, if the always-evil “big oil” made $1 off every gallon of gas sold in this country their profits would be measured in GDPs of “major” European countries. (At least as major as a European country can be after years of Obama-like policies.)

Very few people who do not see Gramm’s crime in his statements are not seeing the real impact of the current economic situation in this company. For the first time in 16 years, American home owners are losing or have lost all equity in their homes. Their lines of credit have been cut as banks try to reduce their exposure to risk. Americans are having problems paying their car loans and credit cards. At the same time two items that are essential for living, food and energy are no longer affordable and there is less and less money to go to paying debt and living expenses. This problem has been created from speculators within the mortgage brokerage to energy. The effect of betting on the real estate bubble (Goldman Sachs) or oil, currently speculated to rise up to $250 a barrel by December 2008, it is important to know that Gramm, Berman, and Black (All responsible for McCain’s Economic policy) are all responsible deregulating the commodities market (Enron Loophole) that is creating havoc on the economic situation in the US.

Sue…the problem with jobs leaving this country is the unions forcing more money and perks for employees which hiked the prices of consumer goods sky high..like autos!Then the unions forced businesses to give more benefits, bigger wages and those employees were constantly expecting more! I worked for one of those big companies who tried to hold the unions at bay but when their profits waned they took their business elsewhere. That is what business does. I had three family members who were also out of work when work was taken out of this country along with myself…we all took different paths, but we found work that paid not as much but enough to keep our lifestyles unchanged! The jobs are out there, you just need to find them! Every county gives civil service exams and are easy to pass. And civil service jobs are readily available..like a clerk in the dmv or the courthouse or school! Night courses are available with a reasonable charge and can train you to work in an office….and if you are really poor you can get a grant from the county…to go to school to become a court stenographer or work as an LPN (takes 7 months…pay is great). My niece took the LPN course and made $45,000 her first year in practice at a nursing home! My daughter took the court stenographer course and works at the courthouse! My point is, there are places to go and people need to make the effort! My wish for you is a better life and hope you try one of my suggestions! I do understand how people feel when they lose work..I was there once and know it is scary. I live by one rule…I only go where God takes me…see where He will take you!

To Mike-Boulder,CO | Jul 10, 2008 4:40:27 PM
Well Mike my family and myself live in a modest home, less than 100,000. And was earning close to 50k when we moved in it. But I lost a my income when my company moved my department to CHINA. and my husband had to take a position at half the pay. But I sucked that up and took advanage of the re-training.
Well, my first position was part-time, earning about half the pay, with no benefits, not even holiday pay. But I keep looking and got my current job. Which does afford my family benefits, but I earn what I did in 1996.
And about the credit cards, we didn’t go on vactions, or buy extravagant things, we had to buy food, pay bills, get gas to make it through the week. We have one car that’s 10 years old, and paid for; yes it’s a SUV, but my husband needs it for his employment. My car is an economy car I bought just before the layoff, it’s almost paid for.
We are both under 50 and have worked since we were teenagers.We saved/sacrificed to by our house. We saved and sacrificed before we had children. We would save and sacrifice now for our retirement and send our child to college but there is no money!!!!!!!!

I thought we had a government that was by the people and FOR the people…with senators like that we don’t need any enemies. I am outraged that a U.S. senator would insult the American public like he did. I guess he doesn’t struggle to pay his mortgage every month or buy gas to get to work everyday or even struggle to make sure his children have enough to eat everyday. well guess what Mr. Senator, I do worry about these things everyday. It is a reality in our life. What are you doing, trying to convince America that our worries are all in our head..What an insult to all of us. It is a scary thought to think that someone like him could one day be the next president. God protect us from self serving politicians like him. I hope that America will stand up and tell this self serving politician that we’ve had enough of his kind of politics.

Golly Gee, you’d think people were having trouble paying their bills or something. So your 401k is losing a tiny bit. So gas is a teensy high.So you don’t have health insurance, you don’t get THAT sick,do you? What’s all the whinning about? Sakes alive, you’d think people were being foreclosed on or something. Let them eat cake!

McCain and Gramm live in bubbles. Gramm is the $25 million a year vice chairman of a SWISS bank who has lobbied for the deregluation that brought you the current credit mess, and has unhesitatingly supported jobs-destroying NAFTA. Aside: his bank is being investigated for money laundering and abetting massive tax evasion and securities fraud. His wife is Labor Secretary and is constantly pushing for more rights for foreign workers (i.e. illegal aliens) in this country. Oh, and she was on the board of ENRON and cashed out just before they went under. Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with 8 homes and, if the media is correct, about to cash out of Anheuser Busch in favor of Belgian investors. Poor John. Nice guy but surrounded by greedy “Americans” who have no interest in the country. Oh and the whiner comment? What can you expect.

I’d love to see the ‘enlightened ones’ live on the fixed income of our seniors. Let THEM try to survive o the outrageously spiraling gasoline and food prices, and the indecent cost of medical care and/or prescriptions. When my mother has to choose between her medications and eating, I challenge McCain and Gramm to tell me that she is ‘whining’.
These men are as bad a Bush – totally out of touch with the predicament of the blue collar workers, and in denial as well. If only we could give THEM the sort of pay cut that too many workers today are forced to take. I’m sick of paying outrageous wages to men and women who swore to represent me. Instead of being listened to I am being screwed.

Sharon,
Does your Mom have access to Senior services for low/free health care? Can she access food pantries, “Meals On Wheels”, or other services that provide basic substanance? Have you helped your Mom by contacting those services, setting up the appointments, and going the “extra mile” to ensure her needs are being met? I’ve done the same for my Mom and Grandmother (both who have severe medical issues). If not, get off the computer, look in the Yellow Pages and start helping Mom instead of waiting for B. McCain/John Obama’s magic solution.
It takes a thick hide to run for public office and I don’t fault those who earn their pay while serving as our representatives. Those who collect their salary and pontificate without offering solutions – they deserve to live on fixed incomes.

Courtney…it’s an attitude like yours that gives elitists a bad reputation. There is a whole generation of people like myself that have worked in the blue collar world for 20 to 30 plus years.Only to find ourselves a few years from retirement and forced out the door.Some not able to afford medication or insurance.Or struggling to make ends meet. Somebody has to do all those dirty jobs nobody else wants to do.Where’s your compassion and understanding? Not everybody can be like you.

I support McCain and I’ll still vote for him but that was a dumb thing to say. Still, he’s about a million times better than Obama.

When you got millions and have nothing to worry about ,we must look like whiners to them.Mc Cain said he don’t agree but you know what he hired the man so now we know ,they all are the same .They have nothing to worry about all on social security and then we pay all their bills.Hate it time for the government to remove some of the perks and let them work for us ….Like the job they have and if we don’t like them and they don’t do as they say when elected they are fired including the president.

In 2006, the combined after tax profits of the top six oil companies were greater than the GDP of 2/3 of the world’s national economies. Interestingly enough, that profit number was $129 billion (for only the top six, remember) and US gasoline consumption was about 137 billion gallons. Pretty close, I’d say.
BTW – Exxon-Mobil’s 2006 after tax profits were greater than the Venezuelan federal budget. Exxon-Mobil’s 2006 revenue was greater than the 2006 GDP of Taiwan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Iran (1.7 times the GDP of Iran, actually).
Numbers courtesy of the US government and the Wall Street Journal. For those of you who think that, you know, actual FACTS are a good way to keep things in perspective.

Gramm is right. Economists have for years been mystified by the stark divergence between actual conditions and public opinion about the economy.
This is not to say that everything is fine. Indeed, the last year as seen objectives indicators turn for the worse. But they still hardly merit the level of national angst. Nor does this recent change retroactively justify the people who have been crying “recession” for the entirety of the Bush administration.
Personally, I attribute the overly sour public mood to the grossly distorted and hyperbolic news coverage we’ve been inundated with. One of the primary indicators that the public mood is not justified has been the disparity between how people rate their own finances how they say they think others are doing. Generally they have said their situation is okay, but everyone else, they claim, is doing poorly. Well how would they know? They get it from news, of course.

There is one truth is the entire article!!! “Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.!!!”
THAT is the main reason the NYT, WP, AJC SFC, et al are posting radical declines in readership and advertising!
Today we have the Internet, C-Span, Talk Radio, Cable news and many alternate news sources that counter the coerced leftist mantra of Big News!
Damn THIS IS FUN!!!

Steve, my Mom gets Meals on Wheels, as well as weekly boxes from the food pantry. She gets financial help from my siblings and myself. With all of this support, she still has trouble with covering rent, utilities and her medications. My assistance is being impacted – my husband has Parkinson’s disease, and with his retirement we too are on a fixed income. I am not waiting for the government to help me; I’m doing the best I can to pinch pennies and make OUR ends meet. Although we had looked forward to retirement in the Pacific Northwest, the equity in our last home in Kansas won’t buy a doghouse in King County, Washington. So we’re moving back to Kansas – the rent we’re paying on a house comparable to our Wichita home is more than double our former mortgage payment. Our kids are there, and as my husband’s condition gets worse in the future, I know that I’ll need their help. I also have to plan for 3 different lifestyles – now, while he can still get around and is relatively ‘normal’. Then the time will come that his health – physically and mentally – will have deteriorated to the point that I’ll either need full-time help, or I have to put him into a nursing home. And the final stage – as a widow. And will we have run through all of the reserves for his medical care – the care that medicare and medicaid DON’T cover? As the government continues to strip social security and medicare, there are going to be more and more senior citizens who can’t afford even the most austere way of life. No matter how much one has put aside for retirement, if they have any sort of long-term disabling illness, the limitations placed on assets by medicare often forces people to divest all of their assets.
This doesn’t affect just seniors, either. We have a son with schizophrenia – he is legally disabled. What does Social Security consider a reasonable monthly allotment? $400. Ask yourself – could you live on $400 a month? He is 30, can only manage a part time job at minimum wage, and lives pretty much a subsistance life. We can’t give him money – he has to report any financial assistance, and that will be deducted from his monthly allotment. Mental illness medications are expensive, and medicaid/medicare contributions are marginal. He has also had severe asthma since birth; those medications are obscenely expensive. He gets only as much as he can afford, and hopes that he doesn’t have a severe attack.
Am I whining? No, I’m looking at the reality of having family members with seriously disabling illnesses, and trying to find any and every possible resource available, because there is no way on earth that any government programs are going to help; as they are now, those programs are more harmful then helpful. I’m busting my butt to give my husband a decent quality of life for as long as possible, recognizing that the result may leave me in poverty when he’s gone. Having been a mom who stayed at home to raise the kids, my social security is going to be marginal at best. Whine? No way; I’m too angry to whine.

I agree that the economy is more sound then we are led to believe, but tell that to someone who is being foreclosed on, can’t afford to put money in their car to get to work or who has lost their job. I also agree that the continual barrage of talk about the bad economy that we get from the media does impact us. If we feel optimistic then we will buy, we will invest and we will take risks more readily then we would when we believe it’s in the dumpster and if we personally aren’t already in the dumpster that we could be someday soon . Reagan, who Obama cites way too often for a Democrat, fully understood this. Optimism can have an impact. For those for whom “change” and “hope” is important at this point in time, I would assume they understand fully well the psychological boost they would get in feeling more optimistic about the state of this Country and it’s future if their candidate were to win the White House. So I’m not offended nor do I totally disagree with what Gramm said today. Having said that though I think Gramm is slime and the sooner
McCain distances himself from him the
better. Gramm is not someone I would want steering any ship in regards to the economy, he’s already done enough damage in my book.

This becomes the headline? But B.O’s comments about “our children need to learn spanish” and how “embarassing it is that most americans don’t speak a second language” isn’t reported on!

Investment fraud, hidden accounts promoting offshore tax avoidance for wealthy Americans. Gramm fits right in at USB. Everyone knows the most experienced and influential crooks are politicians, GOP and DNC alike. They pose as politicians for the better good of the country. The agenda is primarily to obtain public office to create opportunities in monetary gains for themselves and those who have greased the wheels to help make it happen. A few bungling words, bad choices and a blatant lack of mature leadership will do nothing to set them back. Gramm plays the shell game. We are not a whiny public. We are gullible one.

I think Sen. Gramm is absolutely correct. The media has been hyping a recession until now they have people believing it. Even though there are some people who are legitimately in difficult times, most Americans who are struggling financially are struggling because of their own bad decisions (e.g., buying a house they can’t afford, taking trips they can’t afford, running up credit card balances, buying a car they can’t afford, the list is long!). You can only spend for so long before it catches up to you. Even my sons at ages 10 and 12 understand the concept of “delayed gratification” and “living within your means.” Wake up America!! It’s not the government’s fault that individuals can’t control their spending, and it’s definitely not government’s place to bail them out.

I stand corrected. The public is both gullible AND whiny.

Carlos says he has respect for McCain for distancing himself from Gramm due to statements he doesn’t agree with. Let’s see, it was McCain who said he doesn’t understand the economy, so he hires Phil Gramm to be his advisor. What is the point of hiring an advisor with whom you don’t agree? I think McCain is extremely confused and it could be that he is just too old to get a grasp on things. Not the type of person we need as President.

If I had been at the pig trough feeding off the taxpayer and lining my pockets from pork barrel spending, I probably wouldn’t be whining!
D.C. is full of these jokers…..IT MAY BE TIME FOR ANOTHER TEA PARTY!

We don’t need 100 years of the bush economy from McCain

That all sounds real good there ‘ev’, except for one thing and that is called inflation which is now beginning to show it’s ugly head. Assuming your income (student loan or whatever) remains constant, what happens when your rent, utilities and insurance premiums go up to the point that you no longer have the $100 a month disposable income that you claim to have? Ah, it’s so nice to be young, uninformed and naive. Write back to us after you’ve spent a few years working for a living and supporting a family.

“I don’t feel for these people who have no self control. We have become a country that nothing is enough for us we always want more. Go home Cook dinner and sit down and eat a meal with your family and learn to enjoy the little things.”
Very well said. Cut up those credit cards people and live within your means.

ev , sorry but thats NOT my idea of the american dream …someone eating /living like they live in zambia or some 3rd world nation , while a tiny segment of the populace has every whim and thing they desire a reality and more?
its really as simple as this childish analogy…look at the american econmy as a pie . there are just so many slices of that pie and when an elite few get more of the pie than they need /deserve that leaves the rest america struggling to find enough of the pie to go around…is that simple enough for everyone?
the problem is , some people ,(not many and mostly republicans) , are really raping this economy to their huge benefit ,while everyone else eats ramen noodles and is (supposedly) happy with $100 monthly to spend. what ever happend to the “ameican dream”? used to be something attainable but now it is truly becoming a “dream”.
a bigger probelm ,to me anyhow , is that things can be as bad as they are , and yet you have folks like ev and mccain/gramm here ,telling everyone that all their problems are just imagined.
yikes!! can you say ” brainwashed”?

“bah”,
First off, I’m not eating ramen noodles. They’re the biggest waste ever :-)
Second, no, I’m not “happy” with $100/month, but that’s all I have and I’m making it work. I’m not entitled to more, because I haven’t done anything to earn it – yet. The “American Dream” is NOT being handed a house, car, spouse and two kids – it’s working for it. And I’m willing to work.
Now I have no money. I have nothing except the blessing of a good set of brains. So what am I doing? Living the American Dream of using my talents to go to school and earn a degree that will earn me good money after I finish. But when I’m finished, I don’t need the government taking away my hard-earned money and using it to bail out people in credit card debt up to their ears or with mortgages they should have known they couldn’t afford.

and ,lastly…it would be different ,and not an issue to me if we did not live in a country that is supposedly by law governed by the adage “by and for the american people” (meaning the majority of the american people ,not a tiny rich powerful few).
but ,since the american government is supposed to ,by inference of the above statement, reflect the average americans’ best interest , i must take deep divided issue with the current policies of this government , that is, the republicans/elitists/corporations .

OK! You heard it directoy from the exemplar republican. You’re all whiners. Get back to work. We’re gonna’ do away with your work breaks, you’ll make an extra buck or two, and you’ll have no excuse for further whining.
You clowns not making big incomes deserve things like McCain and Gramm. This is what you get when you vote for these kind of vermin. Yet you bozos never learn. If McCain does get elected I’ll be happy when he and gramm sticks it even harder up you and then economically blames you for it. For voting for the bush-cheney scum, you deserve as bad as it can get. Good riddance!

If the economy is so dire and grim, why are there people waiting in line, like cattle, to buy a new iphone? I guess those are all the iced tea drinking fat cats.

mack , i will agree that most americans over spend. while i dont agree with that i can understand ,as an empathetic human WHY they do it.
see, parents want their kids to be happy and have ,at least some ,or a few of the nice things that the “haves” have.
sure there are some who are just lazy and want a meal ticket , but most people arent that at all ,they are just disgruntled and tired of being used and lied to.
i personally believe there is enough for everyone and that most people will work hard IF THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR UPWARD GROWTH.
but when the large majority of the jobs are underpaid with no potential for significant growth, there is no real carrot so to speak for the american worker to go for ,and that brings along the current state of the nation ,that is ; where the government imports illegals to work ,screwing up the labor market in the process ,telling the american worker they are “whining” or imagining there is a problem …
what an elitist statement in total, proving beyond any reasonable doubt that anyone who votes mccain/republican is either:
a:rich
b:stupid
c: both a and b

“Anecdotal evidence for a poor economy?” Lets see the sub-prime mortgage scam which came to be as a result of bush pulling out of all of the regulations set to prevent this. Exorbitant fuel prices. High food prices on the increase. Millions (working people) living worsened life styles since 2000. The rich living more exalted life styles since 2000.
Ancecdotal evidence, in a pig’s ###! That’s REAL evidence. Also evidence indicating that the Ratpacklican Party is composed of nothing but deceiving and convoluting snakes.

TO bah. RE: your last statement. This is truth succinctly stated clearly as it is. That’s the reason I refuse to work (that and the fact I’m retired.)

For you neocons that agree with Phil Gramms ‘whining’ statement, I have a question for you. Since John McCain has repudiated Gramms remark and has in effect ‘thrown him under the bus’, are you still supporting John McCain? After all, McCain now seems to be supporting these whiners, at least saying he feels their pain. Just curious, how you are able to justify supporting McCain while defending Gramms remarks without looking like a bunch of hypocrites?

BAH,
It’s a start and let me add:
4) Means-test entitlement programs (i.e., Social Security, Medicare) based on total income and prevent asset-shifting.
5) Flat tax with no deductions, exceptions, oh-by-the-ways, etc.
6) Two years of government service (Civilian or Military) with coverage of tuition, books, and fees for 1st two years of college. For each year beyond the 2, add another in return for school.
Anyone else got ideas to add or share?

steve ,the best was the 2 years military service. i noticed that one of the royals, kids over in england was in afghanistan , on the front line even , so brave and proud and so unlike the american rich/elite who are ,it seems, mostly cowards who are unwilling to serve anyone or anything but their own short-sighted interests or the interests of some fat cat buddy.
MAKE EVERYONE SERVE TIME IN THE MILITARY WITH NO EXCEPTIONS . anyone who cant serve in the military for whatever reason should do public service (trash collecting, cleaning public areas, etc) for the same amount of time . no exceptions for status or wealth , all applications for enlistment should be done strictly anonymously with no reference to the enlistee other than a serial number ,that would ensure fairness.
EVERYONE SHOULD GET USED TO GIVING SOMETHING BEFORE THEY EXPECT SOMETHING FROM THIS GREAT COUNTRY ,EVEN THE RICH AND ELITE.
once EVERYONE,NOT JUST THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED learns that this great country owes no one anything without due effort ,and not to expect a free ride ,either as a hand out to the lazy or as a government approved nod to the rip off/con- artist/tax avoider /financial schemer etc etc , then we will be much further along as a nation ,and better as people as well .

sylvester, the truth is that time warner (cnn,and others ) , disney (abcnews) and general electric(nbc) ,supply most of what is read , seen or heard as news in this country ,to a large degree anyway.
ahh what a country!
THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET!

“If the economy is so great and robust why is Starbucks closing 600 stores with 12,000 losing their jobs? Why is General Motors stock the lowest since 1954″
Well maybe there are way too many Starbucks stores. You don’t need one on every corner. Just a thought. GM may be down, but how are Honda and Toyota doing?

MAKE EVERYONE SERVE TIME IN THE MILITARY WITH NO EXCEPTIONS . anyone who cant serve in the military for whatever reason should do public service (trash collecting, cleaning public areas, etc) for the same amount of time . no exceptions for status or wealth , all applications for enlistment should be done strictly anonymously with no reference to the enlistee other than a serial number ,that would ensure fairness.
EVERYONE SHOULD GET USED TO GIVING SOMETHING BEFORE THEY EXPECT SOMETHING FROM THIS GREAT COUNTRY ,EVEN THE RICH AND ELITE.
once EVERYONE,NOT JUST THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED learns that this great country owes no one anything without due effort ,and not to expect a free ride ,either as a hand out to the lazy or as a government approved nod to the rip off/con- artist/tax avoider /financial schemer etc etc , then we will be much further along as a nation ,and better as people as well .
Posted by: bah | Jul 11, 2008 3:14:14 PM
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Too bad this wasn’t enacted when Limbaugh
weaseled himself out of the military

the only people that’ll be whining are the ones he makes go back to school for a trade or back to work. the rest of us will be crying because we’re so happy!!!!!!!!! Humanitarianism First!!