dcpolitico's Blog

   Mark Twain once said, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
   Jesse Jackson and Phil Gramm obviously did not heed such advice this week.
   For Jackson, it has been a somewhat sad journey. Twenty years ago, he was arguably at the peak of his political and social influence. His 1984 and 1988 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination were groundbreaking, but his ego prevented him from delivering votes in the general election to the nominee. In the ensuing years, Jackson has seen his influence decline amidst a string of questionable causes and candidates, as well as the oratorical stumbles that we witnessed this week.
    Barack Obama will not be damaged by Jackson’s crude comments that he wasn’t speaking on issues important to the black community. In a sign of Jackson’s shrinking political presence, Obama can actually benefit from the episode by distancing himself from Jackson and appealing to the mainstream voter.   
    Phil Gramm is not exactly on John McCain’s holiday card list after the former Texas Senator  characterized the current economic climate as a “mental recession,” saying we have sort of become “a nation of whiners.” Not exactly sympathetic words to those affected by mortgage foreclosures, a slumping stock market and rising unemployment.  Gramm has strong ties to conservatives, a group McCain desperately needs to turn out in force in the general election.  McCain quickly disavowed Gramm’s comments, though, saying the former Senator “does not speak for me.”
    Needless to say, McCain and Obama will be wary of any more assistance from such friends in the future.     

Tom DiBacco