MI: McCain says 'Michigan is hurting today'
3:11 PM
As the national press digested a McCain economic adviser's comments about the U.S. economy -- former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm called the country sort of "a nation of whiners" undergoing a "mental recession" -- John McCain visited a Wayne County auto supplier and did his best to empathize with Michigan's economic troubles.
From The Detroit News:
"Michigan is hurting today. ... Let's face it, America is hurting today, and it's hurting badly, and we have a lot of work to do," the Republican presidential candidate said. ...The Washington Post said McCain was "trying desperately to empathize with the plight of the auto worker. And not having much luck."
The town hall included tough questions from voters, including one who criticized McCain's commitment to free trade agreements and another who said he opposes Democrat Barack Obama but remains unenthusiastic about McCain because he originally opposed Bush administration tax cuts and supports measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
... the crowd of about 100 sat on their hands in stony silence throughout most of his speech, especially his lecture about the need for free trade -- a policy not embraced in this town.Read the entire Washington Post item
The first question was from a man who urged a different point of view, saying that "what we need to do is control some of those trade issues going on. What we want is fair trade."
McCain again expressed his sympathy, but refused to back down on trade, instead singing the praise of the American spirit of innovation and an education system that he said can be repaired to effectively retrain displaced workers.
