While the nation was in a mortgage crisis, due largely to predatory “sub-prime” lending, John McCain was enjoying himself at one of his 9 homes, each worth millions of dollars. John McCain says that he will help the working man, but he does not understand what the average, middle-class American struggles through.

He made a joke last night, when asked about the definition of “wealthy”, and answered that the line separating the middle class and the wealthy was about $5 million. The average American knows nothing about millions in the bank, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The average American lives from paycheck to paycheck, one illness or catastrophe away from losing everything, all the while falling deeper into debt.

Phil Gramm, McCain’s long-time friend, was advising the McCain campaign at the same time that he was lobbying for UBS, hoping to persuade Congress to take the side of the investment banks, rather than the struggling consumer in the mortgage crisis.

John McCain had no problem with this obvious conflict of interest. The only time he withdrew his support for Gramm was when Gramm said that the Americans losing their homes where just a “bunch of whiners”. I guess anyone that suffers real substantial loss, whether it it one’s property, livelihood, or even their health, is just whining.

Only wealthy people can express reasonable concerns and complaints. Middle-class Americans are just cry-babies. Why, the middle-class “whiners” should be happy that the rich do not take them out and have them shot!

Phil Gramm, one of the architects of the free-wheeling sub-prime mortgage environment, was also John McCain’s presidential campaign co-chair and was advising him on McCain’s approach to the mortgage crisis and economic policy.

From Wikipedia:

While advising the McCain campaign, Gramm was being paid by UBS to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis. During this time, “the mortgage industry pressed Congress to roll back strong state rules that sought to stem the rise of predatory tactics used by lenders and brokers to place homeowners in high-cost mortgages.”^[10] According to Politico.com, Gramm had input on McCain’s March 26, 2008 policy speech on the mortgage crisis.^[10]

In a July 9, 2008 interview explaining McCain’s plans in reforming the U.S. economy, Gramm downplayed the idea that the nation was in a recession, stating, “You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” and “We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.”^[11]

Phil Gramm finally stepped down in an official capacity from the McCain campaign after a flurry of criticism over Gramm’s remarks. John McCain, like most of his lobbyist advisers, made Gramm’s role in the campaign less public, though it is clear that Gramm still advises McCain.

Since the mainstream media will not portray John McCain for the elitist that he really is, Robert Greenwald has taken up the gauntlet with his series of videos on “The Real McCain”. Here is his latest entry, titled, “McCain’s Mansions”: