WP, pg1: Economic Slump Underlines Concerns About McCain ("dog-eat-dog capitalist") Advisers

[DeepModem Mom]

Economic Slump Underlines Concerns About McCain Advisers
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; A01

One of them helped deregulate the financial services industries in the 1990s, and now sits in the corporate suites of Swiss banking giant UBS, which yesterday announced $19 billion in investment losses tied to the crumbling U.S. real estate market.

The other pushed one of the most aggressive and controversial mergers of the technology boom, then was sacked by the disenchanted board of Hewlett-Packard.

Former senator Phil Gramm, with his aw-shucks Texas drawl, may at first blush have little in common with Carly Fiorina, the telegenic former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. But they share a bond: Both are leading economic advisers of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and both have reputations as the kind of aggressive capitalists that may be sliding from favor as the nation's economy edges toward recession.

Democratic opponents are already plotting attacks on two advocates of what Robert Reich, a former Clinton labor secretary, described as "dog eat dog capitalism," an economic philosophy that works well when the economy is on the upswing but may not play so well in a trough. "McCain is counting on people having very short memories and not connecting some pretty obvious dots here," said Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, summing up a growing liberal critique of McCain's economic team.

To economists across the political spectrum, much of the criticism is unfair oversimplification. But even some advisers close to McCain said they wonder if such lightning-rod public figures should be so closely identified with his candidacy. "I, for one, have thought about it a lot," said one McCain adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "And that's all I will say."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040102860_pf.html

[DBoon]

1. Carly Fiorina is a McCain advisor?

OMFG!

Look what she did to HP!

We are so screwed....

[wingedearth]

2. That's a campaign-ad waiting to happen

I can't wait till Obama (or Hillary) prepares an ad slamming McCain for surrounding himself with advisors who have no clue about the economy and have been responsible for its decline.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Indeed, wingedearth -- welcome to DU!

[Doctor_J]

4. Our campaign ads on the economy should be spectacular

Here's mine:

Big Voice Guy: What will the economy under president McCain be like?
Clip: Economics is not my strong suit:
Clip: I agree with presindet Bush

BVG: That's OK. the president doesn't need to know economics, as long he's getting good advice. Let's see who's advising Senator McCain on the economy:

- Particularly ugly pic of Phil Gramm

BVG: There's Phil Gramm. He doesn't believe banks should have any rules or regulations at all. Since he pushed through reactionary deregulation of the banking industry, bank failures have reached a rate not seen since the Republican Great Depression.

- Ugly pic of Carly (there must be one somewhere)

BVG: There's Carly Fiorina. She doesn't think corporations should be subject to any laws. Her tenure in private industry was marked by scandal and failure.

etc.

BVG: If you want more of the same, vote McCain. Otherwise, vote Democratic