McCain's Top Economic Adviser Describes "Mental Recession," Calls America "Nation Of Whiners"

Hmmmm. This really won't do much to allay John McCain's big disadvantage among voters who cite the economy as a leading concern.

Check out what Phil Gramm, the top economic adviser to McCain, had to say in a new interview:

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

Out of touch much? McCain's top economic adviser thinks we are in a "mental recession" and thinks America is a "nation of whiners."

This is becoming a pattern. As Think Progress points out, McCain recently said that a lot of our problems are "psychological." And as we noted here the other day, when asked if we are in a recession, McCain could only bring himself to say that "I would imagine that we are."

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