The Republican presidential hopeful John McCain let his frustration with the US economy boil over today. When asked in an interview about the challenges his campaign faces, McCain responded, "Look, it's no secret that the economy favors my opponent." Asked to elaborate, he replied, "This country is in crisis. Now is not the time to point fingers. But everybody knows that the economy caused this crisis, and I think everybody knows why it's doing it."

Separately, Steve Schmidt, who is the top strategist for the McCain campaign, called the economy a "pro-Obama institution..uh...organization...whatever, it's pro-Obama." He added,

This is an economy that is completely, totally, 150 percent in the tank for the Democratic candidate. Everything that happens to the economy should be evaluated by the American people from that perspective.

Challenged by reporters to defend the accusation, Schmidt continued:

The economy could have gone sour at any point in the past four years or the next four years. You have to ask yourself why now? Who stands to gain? Why, on the same day that John McCain declared that the fundamentals of our economy were strong, would the Dow Jones suddenly tumble 300 points? Some people might call it a coincidence. I call it spite.

Asked why the economy might bear ill will towards the campaign, Schmidt answered, "I have no idea. Go ask the economy."

But others have suggested that the economy, which has been increasingly fragile in recent years, feels disrespected by John McCain, whose priority in the Senate has been military affairs and earmark reform. McCain's blunt acknowledgment that "I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues," may have particularly incited the economy's wrath.

According to traditional economic theory, economies follows strict mathematical rules and lack independent agency of their own, but many economists have recently embraced the controversial new theory of Agent-Based Economics which asserts that economies have feelings too. The theory offers support to McCain's assertion that the economy has it out for him. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has accused the economy of engaging in malicious behavior, calling it "the worst economy I've ever seen" and "a corrosive force." Dr. Richard S. Satrams, Professor of Economics at Prestigious University, was even more direct:

Much to the dismay of my colleagues, the economy is a capricious and unpredictable beast. Whether driven by chance or animus, I cannot say, but it surely has John McCain by the balls and shows no sign of letting go. One suspects that it seeks another trophy to hang next to [former President] Jimmy Carter's peanuts.

The Obama campaign immediately ridiculed McCain's accusations, stating in a press release that "John McCain is so out-of-touch that he wouldn't recognize the economy if it collapsed on his doorstep. Any of his doorsteps."

Late update: The McCain campaign has just released evidence that they claim proves that the economy is against John McCain. The scrap of paper appears to show the angry scrawl of a clearly disturbed and bitter economy. The authenticity of the document has not been established.

For more on John McCain's tempestuous relationship with the economy, see my previous articles:

• John McCain - Steady at the Helm in Turbulent Seas
  
• The Strange History Of John McCain's Economic Theories