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McCain rejects adviser remarks
11/07/2008 09:38 - (SA)
Washington - Republican John McCain reported the best fundraising month of his presidential campaign on Thursday, but the feat was clouded by his chief economic adviser, who called the United States "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession".
McCain has lagged far behind Democrat Barack Obama's ability to tap donors and set fundraising records through innovative use of the internet.
And the Illinois senator and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who fought him bitterly for the Democratic presidential nomination until she bowed out last month, were raising still more cash on Thursday while hammering McCain on women's issues and the economy - the No 1 issue among voters.
Obama appeared to take particular glee in highlighting remarks former Sen Phil Gramm - McCain's top adviser on the economy - made in an interview with The Washington Times.
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," Gramm was quoted as saying. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline."
At a Michigan campaign stop, McCain told reporters, "I strongly disagree. Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me."
And meeting with voters in a factory, McCain said anyone who had just lost a job "isn't suffering from a mental recession. America is in great difficulty. And we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others".
'America already has one Dr Phil...'
But Obama was not letting McCain off that easily and sought to paint him as out of touch. "America already has one Dr Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy," he said, drawing cheers and laughter with the reference to television psychologist Dr Phil McGraw. Phil Gramm also has a doctorate.
The audience booed and hissed when Obama read out Gramm's quotes, contrasting them with record gasoline prices, steadily climbing grocery bills, home foreclosures and job layoffs.
"It's not just a figment of your imagination," Obama said at a Virginia town-hall event focused on helping women advance economically. "Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head."
"It isn't whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief," he said, drawing a standing ovation from the nearly 3 000 people in a high school gymnasium. "And I think it's time we had a president who doesn't deny our problems or blame the American people for them but takes responsibility and provides the leadership to solve them."
The spirited back and forth on Gramm's assessment aside, McCain had to be heartened with his June fundraising effort, $22m in June and his best monthly performance so far. He ended June with nearly $27m cash on hand, the campaign said.
Campaign manager Rick Davis said McCain and the national Republican Party together entered July with about $95m in the bank. The Republican National Committee, which has been raising money jointly with McCain, collected nearly $26m in June and had nearly $69m on hand, officials said.
The campaign's fundraising has given McCain the ability to outspend Democratic rival Barack Obama on television advertising in key battleground states. Davis said about half of its income had been spent on TV commercials.
Obama has not revealed his June fundraising but has broken records in fundraising. He had raked in $287m by the end of May, but had only $33m cash on hand to spend between now and the end of August.
- AP
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US Elections Special Report
