Gramm's case is different

Carly Fiorina slams her own relevancy: "Outside of Washington, where this is an interesting parlor game, I think most Americans are not really focused on what a bunch of surrogates are saying," Fiorina said on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "They're focused on what the candidates are saying."

Fiorina touches upon a kernel of truth: the mere fact that a surrogate for a campaign says something does not mean that the candidate shares the surrogate's view. Still, campaigns do need to take some level of responsibility for what their surrogates says on their behalf, even if that simply means rejecting an unfortunate comment.

But Phil Gramm's case is different than most. His comments were a big deal precisely because McCain himself has repeatedly said the very same thing. Fiorina should consider herself lucky that the media has largely allowed McCain off-the-hook for his own "psychological" recession comments.