Did Phil Graham have a part in the Sarah Palin selection?

Matthew Benjamin and Laura Litvan write in Bloomberg:

At today's event, Gramm also defended McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate.

“We went through a process of vetting all possible candidates,” narrowing it down to three before choosing Palin, he said.

When asked later whether he still has a role in the campaign, Gramm said, “I'm a supporter.”

I thought Phil Graham had resigned from John McCain’s campaign.

Gramm, 66, a vice chairman of UBS Securities LLC, stepped down as a co-chairman of the McCain campaign in July after telling the Washington Times that the U.S. is a “nation of whiners” facing a “mental recession”.

And, I thought John McCain distanced himself from Graham because of the comment.

After Gramm's July comments, McCain said, “Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me, so I strongly disagree.” People are not whining, he said, adding that “America is in great difficulty.

Could it be that Phil Gramm resigned only in word and continued to advise John McCain behind the scene? If so, he lied. If John McCain sought his input on his VP selection, then he is a hypocrite.