According to Senator John McCain's Chief Economic Advisor, former Senator Phil Gramm, the United States is suffering from a mental recession, and that we have become a nation of whiners, whining about everything. Mr. Gramm tried to explain, after the crap hit the fan, that he was referring to the leaders of the country, when he mentioned whiners, not the American people. Last time I checked, a nation was composed of people and leaders, not just the leaders of the people, big difference.
When you drive up to the gas station and give the attendant, two twenty dollar bills and receive a little less than ten gallons of gas, it is seriously real. Or, when the bank officials drive up to your home, with a Sheriff's sale sign, and you have to call a moving van, it is something that is actually happening, not a figment of your imagination. Or finally, when you travel to the grocery store, fill your cart, with your usual list of groceries, the clerk rings up the total and you have to take out twenty dollars more, than you did, two weeks or so ago. This is reality, not some mental illusion, that you can turn off. Where Mr. Gramm obtained his assessment, of what is occurring in this economy, is hard to figure out, but someone should provide him with the facts as they are. Especially when he is writing economic position papers, for Senator John McCain. This also ties into Senator McCain's thought, that if he plants the idea of drilling for oil, off the shores of the United States, then there will be a psychological effect on the oil market and the price of oil will go down. Alright, if this is so, why didn't we announce this, when oil was at two dollars a gallon, then the price would have stabilized on the belief, that in seven years, we would have new sources of oil. This seems quite absurd to me. Besides that, if this is what you believe, why would you state such a thing, the effect would not take place, if the markets believed that you were doing it, to depress the price of oil, based on perception and not reality.
Senator McCain distanced himself, from Mr. Gramm's remarks, saying that Mr. Gramm did not speak for him, he spoke for himself. It was reported that Mr. Gramm, was at the Wall Street Journal, today, on behalf of Senator McCain, so much for not speaking for Senator McCain. The fact that Mr. Gramm is a millionaire, may be why Mr. Gramm, is not in touch with what is going on in society, he is no doubt, untouched by the higher prices, ordinary people pay, from day to day, for just about everything.
Another of Senator McCain's surrogates, Ms. Carla Florina, former CEO, of Hewlett Packard, spoke at a meeting, where she stated that she thought that the law, which allowed insurance companies, to pay for prescriptions for Viagra, but not for birth control pills was unfair. Fine for her own opinion, but she represents Senator McCain and he voted against the bill, allowing the insurance companies, to pay for prescriptions for birth control pills. Reportedly, his staff said at the time, that he thought it should be a personal choice for a woman, regarding the purchase of birth control pills. After Ms. Florina's remarks, a reporter put a microphone in front of Mr. McCain, and asked him if he agreed with the co-chairman of his campaign. He squirmed for what seemed, to be a long period of time, not knowing what to say, he finally said that he would get back to the reporter, as he did not remember the bill at the moment. Hoop de do, if your surrogate has not coordinated with the candidate, what is one to think. Senator McCain, first of all is pro-choice, which is fine, but that is in conflict with the words of Ms. Florina, who is supposed to be representing Senator McCain. So the surrogates are roaming off the ranch, doing their own thing, and embarrassing the candidate, every now and then.
Tying up the loose ends, would be a very good idea, especially since a new campaign manager, has recently been installed, to tighten up the message. Indeed, Senator McCain's advertisements have had a sharper look to them, although the information depicted, is a bit misleading, if it is analyzed, but that is for public determination.
On the other side, Senator Obama, is having his own problems with his campaign and his message, as he tries to tack to the center, as he enters the general election cycle. He is trying to explain himself to his base, regarding certain changes, that they perceive he has made recently, which have made them uncomfortable.
The two campaigns will be trying to right their positions and tighten up their messages and their messengers, as we move forward, toward November. At this time, Senator Obama has 210 potential electoral votes, from states in his corner, by a certain percentage over Senator McCain, and states that are leaning his way. Senator McCain has a potential of 187 electoral votes, from those states in his corner and leaning towards him. One of the candidates needs to secure 270 electoral votes on election day, or whenever the votes are completely counted, to secure the presidency.
