Perhaps beginning with the impetuous yet endearing Alexander Hamilton, there have always emerged political commentators whose bluntness and lack of delicacy forever prevented an electoral ascendancy to high office. Former Senator Phil Gramm, a top economic advisor to John McCain said the following today:
“You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. ... We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining, about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline. ... We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today.”
Predictably, the haughty Obama reacted harshly, as did McCain. Both rejected the statement. Could Gramm's assessment have been nuanced better? Yes. Could it have been better qualified? Yes. But I do believe that overall, his statement rings true, more when applied to the attitudes of the media and the far left than to the general public at large. Certainly the media's constant drumbeat of pessimism has had an adverse impact on the American disposition. Are things really as bad as we are to believe them to be?
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