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'A Nation of Whiners'

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Friday, July 11, 2008; Page A03

From an online article published Wednesday by the Washington Times after an editorial board meeting with former senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), an adviser to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. The "mental recession" and "nation of whiners" quotes did not appear in the print edition of the Times:

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In an interview with the Washington Times, Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who is now vice chairman of UBS, the giant Swiss bank, said he expects Mr. McCain to inherit a sluggish economy if he wins the presidency, weighed down above all by the conviction of many Americans that economic conditions are the worst in two or three decades and that America is in decline.

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.


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