FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.

NO RECESSION, AMERICANS ARE "WHINERS" SAYS McCAIN ADVISOR; PREZ, US SEN & GUV POLLS; DEMS INDICTED IN PA FOR USING STATE FUNDS TO DISRUPT GREENS.

P2008. Former US Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) -- an economic advisor to John McCain's campaign and a frequently mentioned as a frontrunner for Treasury Secretary in a McCain Cabinet -- said Thursday that the US economy is actually fine. In fact, he explains the economic recession is caused by the liberal media and crybaby citizens. "This is a mental recession ... We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining ... Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day," said Gramm to the Washington Times. "I guess what he meant was it's a figment of our imagination, these high gas prices. It's not just a figment of your imagination, it's not all in your heads, when people are struggling with the rising cost of everything from gas to groceries ... this economic downturn is not in your head," quickly responded Barack Obama. "Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree. America's in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic challenges," said McCain. The Arizona Senator also joked that Gramm wasn't under consideration for the Treasury post, at least not right now: "I think Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for Ambassador to Belarus, although I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that." After the initial backlash, Gramm was entirely unapologetic. "I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true," he told the Washington Post.

P2008 - DAILY POLLING UPDATE. Here is our daily update of the latest independent polls from swing states (and states that appear to be evolving into swing states):
ILLINOIS (Rasmussen): Obama - 50%, McCain - 37%.
MAINE (Bangor Daily News/Pan Atlantic SMS Group): Obama - 37%, McCain - 26%.
NORTH DAKOTA (Rasmussen): Obama - 43%, McCain - 43%.
WISCONSIN (Rasmussen): Obama - 50%, McCain - 39%.

US SENATE: The latest independent polls for US Senate races.
ILLINOIS (Rasmussen): US Senator Dick Durbin (D) - 61%, physician Steve Sauerberg (R) - 27%.
KANSAS (TargetPoint-R): US Senator Pat Roberts (R) - 54%, former Congressman Jim Slattery (D) - 34%.
MAINE (Bangor Daily News/Pan Atlantic SMS Group): US Senator Susan Collins (R) - 48%, Congressman Tom Allen (D) - 29%.

GOVERNOR: The new independent polls for the gubernatorial contests.
NORTH DAKOTA (Rasmussen): Governor John Hoeven (R) - 66 %, State Senator Tim Mathern (D) - 26%.

PENNSYLVANIA. Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) on Thursday indicted former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon (D) and 11 other present and former Democratic state legislative staffers on public corruption charges. The counts include theft, criminal conspiracy and unlawful conflict of interest. According to the grand jury indictments, the 12 accepting public funds while they worked on the state ballot petition challenges against Ralph Nader in 2004 and the Green Party's US Senate candidate in 2006. Although on government payroll, some staffers reported worked for a full week apiece on the petition challenges and other were paid by state funds to work on local campaigns. The indicted staffers -- and at least 40 others -- also allegedly received roughly $1 million in state-paid bonuses for their work to disrupt Green Party activities in the state.

Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 07.11.08