Naturally, in leaving McCain's campaign, Phil Gramm had to blame Democrats. He's such a victim.

It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country," Mr. Gramm said in a statement issued by the campaign. "That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain’s ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country’s problems, it hurts the country."

Mr. Gramm, a multimillionaire banker, has been under fire since last week, when he dismissed concerns about the troubled economy by referring to "a mental recession." He also said the United States had become "a nation of whiners," a remark providing fodder for Democrats to portray Republicans as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.

The Obama campaign declined to apologize for thinking the economic issues needing discussion are not purely psychological.

"The question for John McCain isn’t whether Phil Gramm will continue as chairman of his campaign, but whether he will continue to keep the economic plan that Gramm authored and that represents a continuation of the polices that have failed American families for the last eight years," said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the campaign of Senator Barack Obama.