Ousted adviser Phil Gramm appears at McCain campaign event

ASPEN, Colo. – Phil Gramm is back from Belarus.

There he was Thursday, in from the cold, seated directly in front of John McCain as the Republican presidential hopeful took the stage for a forum in Colorado.

The former Texas senator was a co-chairman of Mr. McCain's campaign until July, when Mr. Gramm called the United States "a nation of whiners" stuck in a "mental recession" that overstated true economic woes.

Mr. McCain promptly rebuked him, saying "Phil Gramm doesn't speak for me."