Gramm "doesn't speak" for McCain when he calls us whiners, but he will still work with McCain

Gramm to continue as McCain adviser and surrogate.

Last week, Phil Gramm, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) “econ brain,” said that America is a “nation of whiners” suffering from a “mental recession.” In response, McCain said that Gramm “does not speak for me,” and McCain policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin asserted that Gramm would no longer be giving McCain advice. Today, however, Robert Novak reports that “Gramm will continue as an adviser and surrogate“:

After Sen. John McCain publicly repudiated his close friend and adviser Phil Gramm’s comments about a “nation of whiners” and a “mental recession,” the two old political comrades patched up their relationship.

Gramm apologized to McCain for his remarks that gave Democrats an opening against the Republican presidential candidate and provided several days of ammunition for blogs, cable television and radio talk shows. McCain told Gramm not to worry about the expected pitfalls of a campaign surrogate. Gramm will continue as an adviser and surrogate.

(Think Progress)