Nearly every poll conducted in the wake of our nation's financial meltdown has been bad news for John McCain. His numbers began to drop early last week, when news of the $700 billion bailout started to sink in. Clearly, McCain's week-old pronouncement that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong," wasn't meshing with the facts. If, as McCain's financial adviser, Phil Gramm insists, this recession is all in our heads, then why do the taxpayers need to pay nearly a trillion dollars in therapy bills?

When McCain's pollsters let their man know of the ominous trend, the Arizona Senator did what he does best, he hastily formed an ill-advised plan to save the day. As with his last-minute selection of Sarah Palin, McCain figured a shake-up was in order. Something big and bold, to shock and awe the nation. So, he stepped to the mic and told America he was "suspending his campaign." He declared that the first presidential debate should be postponed. It was a calculated, high-stakes gamble.

And for a nano-second, some observers thought he'd made a brilliant move. He's doing his job, they declared. Hooray! But by the time McCain arrived in DC, the infusion of presidential politics effectively squashed whatever momentum Congress had built up. McCain, the brave leader, sat silently for 40-minutes in the big meeting with Obama, their fellow legislators and all the president's men, only mumbling a non-committal line or two toward the end of the dismal session.

Tail between his legs, McCain did show for Friday's debate in Mississippi. Though the bailout deal lay in tatters, McCain must have realized he was doing more harm than good, so, once again, he put country first got on a plane, and ditched the rescue effort that he'd portrayed as more important that a silly old debate.

To be sure, attempting to decipher whether or not the Bush Administration's plan to bailout the financial sector will work, or should work, is confusing business. But there's no doubt that three key figures in John McCain's campaign have been at the center of the storm, lobbying on behalf of companies who have benefited, or are now looking for help, from US taxpayers.

As the AP and Bloomberg report today, the lobbying firm that McCain has picked to run his transition team is headed by one William Timmons, a registered lobbyist for Freddie Mac since 2000 (he stopped lobbying for them a few weeks ago due to pesky government rules that ban such double duty). Timmons was put in charge of McCain's presidential transition, and as you'll recall, around that same time, Freddie Mac was taken over by the government because of its stockpile of bad mortgages.

Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, has also personally benefited from his dealings with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. His claim to fame is running a firm who lobbied the federal government for looser restrictions on the two mortgage giants. And his lobbying firm was paid nicely for it, too: $35,000/month, for a total of $2 million over 5 years.

Phil Gramm, one of McCain's chief financial advisers (see "nation of whiners") has long been on the payroll of Switzerland's UBS, who now, it seems, is doing its level best to get a piece of taxpayer pie. It's funny that Gramm isn't chiding UBS for being a foreign bank of whiners, considering that they've come, hat in hand, to the US Government.

It is true that Barack Obama's campaign benefited from the fundraising muscle of former Fannie Mae chief, James Johnson. Johnson briefly served on Obama's VP selection committee, but stepped down on June 11, when it was revealed he'd gotten a sweet deal from Countywide mortgages, another casualty of the real estate collapse.

But don't count on Gramm, Davis or Timmons stepping down anytime soon. They're integral parts of the McCain machine. And though Sarah Palin often talks about taking on the "good ol' boy network," what other phrase better describes that trio backing her man McCain?

Senior McCain campaign adviser Carly Fiorina is expected to join D.B. Cooper, and the guy who used to sing with George Michael, in that place just outside anyone's consciousness. The Guardian has a funny take on Fiorina's post-gaffe future:

"Carly will now disappear" - a McCain campaign source sounds troublingly Bond-villainesque when discussing the future of Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett Packard and a high-profile Republican campaign-trail surrogate. Earlier this week, Fiorina said she thought Sarah Palin lacked the experience to run a business such as HP. She later "clarified" her remarks by adding that she didn't think John McCain or Barack Obama had the right experience, either. Time to press the button under the desk that opens the trapdoor over the shark pool.

You can see Carly's gaffe below.

For those of you who are new to the party, Senior McCain adviser Phil Gramm made arguably the worst gaffe of this campaign, certainly worse than Carly's. Since then, McCain has been constantly changing Gramm's position relative to "the bus," first throwing him under, then dusting him off, under again, back...

I will be interested to see if McCain has as hard a time saying goodbye to Carly. If not, I'll have to wonder why. Carly has a lot more to offer McCain than Gramm, and doesn't bear the responsibility for the current economic crisis the way Gramm does. Why would McCain consider Gramm indispensable, and Fiorina expendable?

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

It doesn't seem to matter what mode of transportation John McCain throws Phil Gramm under, the former chief economic adviser and diagnoser of a whiny nation's "psychological" recession just keeps coming back. From WSJ Online:

Ousted John McCain campaign co-chairman Phil Gramm is back with the campaign's top advisers this weekend, as the campaign gathers top supporters for a series of briefings in scenic Aspen, Colo.

And McCain still loves him:

At a dinner this evening, Sen. McCain singled out Gramm, among others, for particular thanks. "Phil Gramm and I and Wendy (Gramm) and Cindy and I go back many, many years, and I'm always grateful to see my friend, Phil Gramm. Thank you, Phil, for all your friendship and support."

Gramm may be known to most as a "gaffe celebrity," but his real claim to fame is as the architect of the "Enron Loophole," and by extension, our current gas crisis. You know, the one that McCain wants to solve with "psychologically effective" offshore drilling. Wait, are these guys using Professor Harold Hill's "Think Method?"

Embattled senior McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm, he of the "mental recession" and "nation of whiners," seems to have bested Lazarus, rising yet again to advise McCain's campaign. At least, that's what McCain surrogate Steve Forbes had to say: (from CNBC's Larry Kudlow)

Kudlow:... A lot of conservatives are very dispirited that Phil Gramm has left the McCain campaign, Steve. Has he in fact left? I know he resigned. Will Senator McCain, who has yet to speak about this, do you think Senator McCain will ask him to come back?

Steve Forbes: Oh I think in terms of advice, Phil Gramm will be critical, which is good, because on things like trade he's absolutely right. I think John McCain has a long friendship with Phil Gramm. So this was something, Phil Gramm said something that you're not supposed to these days. And he paid a price for it. But in terms of the relationship, I think it's as strong as ever. And in a McCain administration, I think Phil Gramm's advice will be taken to heart.

Kudlow: Why won't Senator McCain say what you just said publicly? ...

Forbes: I think he will say good things about Phil Gramm. And Phil Gramm paid the price for it. Gramm's been in presidential politics, as I have, and when these things happen somebody walks the plank. But I think in terms of the relationship, and the philosophy, that's not going to change.

Keith Olbermann has the video and some commentary:

Here's the breaking story I didn't get to this morning, from the Obama campaign (via email):

Obama campaign response to Senator McCain's decision to keep Phil Gramm as an economic advisor:

"Senator McCain's economic plan gives nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the oil companies but doesn't provide any tax relief to more than 100 million middle-class families. But that shouldn't come as a surprise since today we learned that Phil Gramm will continue to advise Senator McCain on economic policy despite calling Americans struggling in this economy 'whiners,'" said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.

No sooner had Gramm gotten most of the tire marks out of his skin than he found himself on the business end of the Straight Talk Express. Now we know what all those bumps were during McCain's press bus chats.

Here's a report from Countdown, followed by Gramm's statement and my pieces of copper:

Greetings from our nation's capital! Here, a robust public transportation system helps shield the local populace from the pain of high gasoline prices. But that's not to say there aren't mobility problems. In fact, this year, DC has witnessed a sharp increase in high-profile political figures who have been tossed "under the bus." Really, it's a wonder that they run at all anymore.

The single-most overused cliché among pundits and journalists these days, "under the bus" connotes a public cutting-of-ties with a former ally. The action, like a sucker-punch on its hapless victim, often, but not always, comes as a surprise. Those who are tossed under that large, moving vehicle usually express outrage, or shame, or both. Those who toss run the risk of charges of hypocrisy. The timing of the tossing is always seen as suspect, a symptom of political convenience rather than of true moral fiber.

Here's a highlight reel of the dizzying number of U.T.B. moments from our current presidential campaign, in no particular order.

John McCain tosses Phil Gramm

In perhaps the single-most tone-deaf utterance of the campaign season so far, McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm diagnosed our economic woes as being a figment of our whiny imaginations. McCain's response to his old friend was anything but kind. Asked if Gramm would still hold a place in his hypothetical administration (Treasury?), McCain quipped:

"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."

Belarus, under the bus with you, too.

Via The Washington Times and TPM comes yet another embarrassment for John McCain's campaign. This time, McCain's "top economic adviser," Phil Gramm had the following to say about the lousy economy and its effects on American working men and women:

"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 card 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, complaints 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.

While it's true that in technical terms--two consecutive quarters of negative growth--we have yet to see honest-to-God recession, the tenor of Gramm's comments illustrates a tone-deaf pattern from an out-of-touch campaign. Stop being so hysterical, Gramm is telling you. Things aren't really so bad! So you lost your house, canceled your summer vacation, are skimping at the grocery store. It could be a whole lot worse.

Phil, of course, knows a thing or two about foreclosures. After all, he's a lobbyist for a Swiss bank embroiled in the credit crisis, and was a chief player in the deregulation of the banking industry.

The Daily News has a rundown of some of the things the $212 million Hillary Clinton spent on her presidential bid could have bought instead. According to Celeste Katz, the Clinton campaign could have paid for the following: sending more than 76,000 New York families to Disneyland, 9,838 Toyota Priuses, 70.7 million energy-efficient light bulbs, and several other amusing and ironic purchases. The $11 million Clinton gave her campaign could buy everyone in New York City a lottery ticket. The total campaign cost could have bought everyone in the city a movie ticket. Well, that last one says more about the cost of movies than it does about the cost of campaigns.

Although Hillary Clinton's campaign spent a fortune (as did Obama, but his campaign looks good because he got the nomination), she simply played the campaign finance game as it is played in this era. In order to compete on a battlefield of this magnitude, spending an absolute fortune is simply the ante. Kicking the candidate who lost while she's down may be fun and easy, but it's the system that needs kicking, not Senator Clinton. Plenty of others spent quite a bit more than the staggering $109,823 per delegate she spent. For example, her tally is nothing compared to the $48.8 million Rudy Giuliani spent on a single delegate during his failed bid for the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney put out quite a bit of economic stimulus as well, spending $98 million for just 282 delegates, nearly $350,000 per delegate. Romney's stings a little more because $42.3 million of it was his own money.

Before the 2008 Presidential campaign, the gold standard for farcical overspending was set by the 1996 bid for the Republican presidential nomination by John McCain's current economic adviser, and former Texas senator, Phil Gramm. Gramm's campaign spent $25 million for just 10 delegates. Republican campaign insiders coined the term for the money a candidate spends per delegate won the Gramm-o-meter. That kind of wasteful spending seems quaint in retrospect.

Now that the laurel of the Republican nomination has settled rather firmly upon John McCain, the next dramatic event in the GOP universe (discounting Huckabee's imminent withdrawal and several pending McCain endorsements) will be McCain's selection of a running mate.

Naturally, the first instinct is to contemplate the losers of the GOP race. The thinking is that, by adding a former opponent to your ticket, you might thereby cull his voters to your ticket. Of course, it didn't work so well for John Kerry in 2004, or Al Gore in 2000....

Realistically, McCain must decide upon the effect he hopes to produce in the selection of his V-P. Should the selectee be chosen in a demographic calculation, in an attempt to secure a swing state by choosing one of their own for the ticket? Or, should the running mate compensate for a delinquency in McCain's credentials (i.e., bolstering his conservative merits)? Finally, will the V-P be expected to continue the "active" vice-presidency executed by Dick Cheney, or will we see a return to the behind-the-scenes, butler-style figure of Al Gore during the Clinton years.

This post takes an extended look at the current prospects whom McCain is likely pondering today.