Gramm: A politician, apparently. Who knew?

Apparently Sen. John McCain doesn’t really know this Phil Gramm guy who made comments about Americans being a “nation of whiners” when it comes to economics.

“Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I strongly disagree,” McCain said about the former U.S. Senator from Texas, adding that if Gramm was still potentially up for a position in is administration, “ambassador to Belarus” would be his best hope.

Which raises an interesting point. At what point did McCain decide that Gramm wasn’t on the same page as him? Was it during the two years in Congress they spent together? Or the 16 years they shared in Senate? Or is it just after he took the mastermind behind the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (aka the Enron Loophole) and lobbyist for sub-prime mortgage speculators as chief economic policy adviser for his presidential campaign?

This article appears in July 11 • 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.