The Center for American Progress Action Fund reported last month that 3.1 million Minnesotans could lose their employer health benefits under Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) health care plan, which would also lead to “major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid.” Recently, Luke Friedrich, an aide to Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), was asked four times whether Coleman supports McCain’s plan. Each time, he refused to back McCain, only claiming that Coleman “is aligned with Senator Coleman’s plan”:

FRIEDRICH: Well, Senator Coleman is aligned with Senator Coleman’s plan and I think that’s the point that I want to make here. [...]

Q: If Senator McCain’s bill came up for a vote, how would the Senator vote on it?

FRIEDRICH: Again, it would depend on what was in the bill. … I’m sure, some things that will line up. I mean, they are both pretty comprehensive plans. I’m sure there are some things that line up from Senator Obama’s plan as well.

Watch it:

The Wonk Room has more on the Bush administration’s plan to cut Medicaid for 18,000 low-income parents in Minnesota.

The AP reports that Lehman CEO Richard Fuld admitted to Congress today that he has taken home over $300 million since 2000, “some $60 million in cash compensation.” Furthermore, “executives who feared for their bonuses in the company’s last months were told not to worry,” even as Lehman plead for a federal bailout. Waxman revealed that “the board give three departing executives over $20 million in ‘special payments.’” Watch it:

“In other words, even as Mr. Fuld was pleading with Secretary Paulson for a federal rescue, Lehman continued to squander millions on executive compensation,” Waxman said. Read more

During Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-AK) speech in Florida this morning, campaign staffers kept the press locked out of the park and away from supporters attending the speech:

Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn’t permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters. When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, “Can I help you?” and turn the person around.

When one reporter asked an escort, who would not give her name, why the press wasn’t allowed to mingle, she said that in the past, negative things had been written. The campaign wanted to avoid that possibility Monday.

Palin has still yet to give a single press conference since being tapped as Sen. John McCain’s running mate on August 29.

With close friends like Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) acknowledging that a focus on the economy has been bad for Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign, his adviser have announced a strategy for “turning a page on this financial crisis” in order to stop “talking” about the economy. But on the defensive about trying to avoid the most important issue of the day, senior McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer argued on Fox News today that McCain “has made the economy, and his economic policies, just really, the fulcrum of his whole campaign”:

PFOTENHAUER: Now, obviously, Senator McCain has made the economy, and his economic policies, just really, the fulcrum of his whole campaign. I mean, we spend about 80 percent of our time talking about it, unless Russia invades Georgia, and then there’s a little bit of a sidebar. But we spend most of our time focusing on those things because Senator McCain cares so much about it. And he’s been very clear, if I can be biased, he has a very comprehensive plan to get the economy back on track and we spend almost all of our time advocating it.

Watch it:

In reality, McCain has made every effort he can to talk about anything but the economy. In June, Fortune magazine asked McCain what he saw as “the gravest long-term threat to the U.S. economy.” Instead of mentioning an actual economic issue, McCain paused for 11 seconds before saying “radical Islamic extremism“:

He’s looking not at us but into the void. His eyes are narrowed. Nine seconds of silence, ten seconds, 11. Finally he says, “Well, I would think that the absolute gravest threat is the struggle that we’re in against radical Islamic extremism, which can affect, if they prevail, our very existence. Another successful attack on the United States of America could have devastating consequences.”

McCain’s pivot in his interview with Fortune is similar to the pivot he made during a primary debate earlier this year. Asked about why he was “qualified” to “manage our economy,” McCain said that his military background gave him “the vision and the knowledge and the background to take on the transcendent issue of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism.”

Considering that McCain has previously admitted that he knows “a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues,” it’s not surprising that he would often choose to talk about “radical Islamic extremism” instead of the economy. What is surprising is that McCain’s advisers believe they can credibly claim McCain has made the economy “the fulcrum” of his campaign.

This afternoon, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gave a “sharply worded” speech full of “verbal assaults” directed at Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). At one point, McCain asked, “Who is the real Barack Obama?” A member of the crowd yelled out, “a terrorist!” McCain paused while the audience laughed at the comment, and then continued with his attack — without condemning or admonishing the audience member. Watch it:

Last year, McCain had a similar reaction when one of his supporter asked, regarding Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), “How do we beat the b*tch?” McCain laughed and replied, “That’s an excellent question.” (HT: AmericaBlog)