Former Sen. Phil Gramm, a top economic adviser to presumptive GOP nominee John McCain, referred to the economic slowdown as "a mental recession" and called the United States “a nation of whiners.”
The comments, in an interview with The Washington Times, could hurt the campaign’s efforts to convince working-class Americans that McCain feels their pain.
Democrats immediately condemned the remarks as “callous” and quickly began working to gain widespread attention to them.
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton shot back "[T]he American people know that our economic problems aren’t just in their heads. They don’t need psychological relief — they need real relief — and that’s what Barack Obama will provide as president."
The Democratic National Committee issued a statement titled: “Out of Touch Much, Phil.”
A McCain official said: “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.”
The Times said Gramm said he expects a McCain administration would inherit an economy “weighed down above all by the conviction of many Americans that economic conditions are the worst in two or three decades and that America is in decline.”
The Times quoted him as saying: “You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. … We have sort of become a nation of whiners. …
“You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline. … We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today.”
Karen Finney, the Democratic National Committee’s communications director, said: “What John McCain, George Bush, Phil Gramm just don't understand is that the American people aren't whining about the state of the economy, they are suffering under the weight of it — the weight of eight years of Bush-enomics that John McCain and Phil Gramm have vowed to continue.
“How dare john McCain and his advisers so callously dismiss the challenges the American people face? No wonder voters feel john McCain is out of touch. He and his campaign don't even understand the everyday issues Americans are dealing with.”
