Hardball's Chris Matthews does battle with McCain flack Nancy Pfotenhauer.

This is simply hysterical.

The spokesman for the man who voted with Bush 90% of the time wants to blame the economic downturn on the Democrats despite the fact that the Republicans have been in charge for most of the last eight years.

Nancy Pfotenhauer is challenged on how McCain can run on the Republican ticket whilst distancing himself from the Republican party.

She would like to talk about where the country goes from here rather than which party is responsible, which is understandable given the situation she finds herself in, but she really pushes things when she bizarrely claims to be speaking, not as a Republican spokesman but "as a McCain spokesman".

It's official. John McCain is running on the Republican ticket whilst pretending not to be a Republican.

Tags: Nancy Pfotenhauer, Chris Matthews, Obama, McCain, economics, US elelction 2008