Phil Gramm is still a jerk and McCain McFlippity-flops

Remember Phil Gramm, the obnoxious and mean-spirited GOP senator from Texas?

He was best-known for this kind of stuff:

When an elderly widow in Corsicana told him that cutting Medicare would make it
more difficult for her to remain independent, Gramm said, "You haven't thought
about a new husband, have you?"

He was also a world class hypocrite: posing as a faux populist and railing against government waste while sending pork barrel money back to his Texas campaign backers; courting the religious right and blovating about morality while trying to finance a soft-core adult movie (not a joke - See the N.Y.Times).

Gramm also never met an industry he didn't want to deregulate for Corporate America. Among his key works in the Senate was deregulating the banking industry to pave the way for the foreclosure crisis.

Yes Phil Gramm was probably one of the worst politicians of the '90s. He ran for president and failed miserably in 1996. Then he served out his Senate term and retired to work as a lobbyist (for subprime company UBS among others) and spend more time with his wife (who was on the board of directors at Enron.)

Well, he's back!

McMaverick has picked him as an economic advisor.

On Wednesday he said the economic problems are all in your head and that America is merely in a "mental recession." The economy is doing just fine, he says:

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this
constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in
decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth
continues in the economy, he said.

McCain initially stood by Gramm's ugly comments. But now, in the millionth example of McCain trying to say that one of the career lobbyists he constantly surrounds himself is not really representative of his campaign, McStraighttalk says:

"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."

McCain, however, is keeping the patron saint of lobbyists on the campaign and Gramm, in his typically insensitve, nasty manner, is standing by his statement.

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

Though he did try to weasel out of it and claim that he wasn't referring to the American people , but leaders in Washington (classic Gramm phony populism), but the idea that the economic problems are imaginary stays.

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For more info on what a wonderful guy Gramm is, check out Mother Jones' article on his retirement from the senate. That's where you can find stuff on McCain's economic mastermind like this statement:

"Most people don't have the luxury of living to be 80 years old," Gramm
scoffed, "so it's hard for me to feel sorry for them." (responding to
another senator who pointed out that a social security proposal would hurt
retirees)

Photo: Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm introduces Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to speak at a town hall meeting, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa.(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)