Well yeah, to a degree I agree.

That was what Sen. Phil Gramm said yesterday about Americans. He also said for many it is a "mental recession", meaning that to this point they've not suffered the results of an actual recession, but have adopted the attitude prevalent during a recession (and, I suppose, help it become a reality).

I've never been much of a Gramm fan, but his criticism hit home. Just listen to the whining about gas prices for heaven sake. And you'd think the Iraq war was the most costly and brutal war ever fought if you listened to a certain segment of our population.

Not to mention the sky is falling, jobs are scarce (5.5% unemployment - considered full employment, but part of that mental recession), the right jobs aren't available, the housing crisis and, well you name it and someone is whining about it.

Certainly Gramm's comments may have been deemed by many as politically incorrect and insensitive, but I see them as essentially on target.

However the political season is the "whining" season. Whining is encouraged. Politicians are on stage to tell us how bad things are and how well they are going to fix them. This is when candidates have town hall meetings and potential voters whine about their condition and ask the candidate what they're going to do for them.

"America is hurting today," he said. "Michigan is hurting today. The automotive industry is hurting. And we've got big problems, and we've got big challenges."

And the candidates pander. And pander. And pander.

So it is absolutely unacceptable for an adviser to any politician to say something which doesn't help the panderfest. That is why Phil Gramm ended up being immediately thrown under the "Straight Talk Express" before he had time to get his helmet and pads on.