Maybe so—he’s letting Phil Gramm develop his economic policy. (Actually, it sounds like Sen. Gramm has effectively become not just his chief economic advisor, but his chief political advisor.) Apparently, though I hadn’t known it, the two have been close friends for a long time, and Sen. Gramm considers Sen. McCain a strong ally as well; certainly he endorsed Sen. McCain in ringing terms. It sounds, further, like a McCain administration might well resurrect the old conservative dream of Phil Gramm as Treasury Secretary; so far, Sen. Gramm is saying he wouldn’t want to do that, but I suspect that one way or another, he’d end up the primary influence on economic policy—Sen. McCain admits it isn’t his strong suit, and it’s clear that he’s identified Sen. Gramm as the person whose advice he should follow in that area. (Given Sen. McCain’s strong record of opposition to special interests and pork-barrel spending, the real allegiance between these two men should be clear; this is no marriage of convenience.) If that doesn’t allay the concerns of fiscal conservatives, I’m not sure what could. It certainly allays mine.
