McCain Can’t Find 100 Economists to Endorse His Plan

This is pretty funny — the McCain campaign’s letter of 100 economists warning of the dire impact of Barack Obama’s policies on the economy is only signed by ninety people.

Note that the American Economics Association has over 17,000 members. And the McCain campaign wasn’t being very discriminating in looking for signatories — many of the people listed work at rightwing think tanks and as Jon Chait observes, two list their affiliation as “McCain-Palin 2008.” This means that out of thousands of economists in the United States, McCain wasn’t able to scratch up even 100 to sign his document. And then on top of that, the economists who are supporting McCain don’t support his new housing scheme.