Unsolicited Advice, cameo by Phil Gramm: It's all in your head, whiners!

John McCain's campaign advisor Phil Gramm said awhile back that we're only experiencing a "mental recession."

(I'm glad he said this now, as I wondered prior to this statement whether John McCain was a neocon (or just a regular old con). Out of that closet he comes -- though he's distanced himself from this statement, in much the same way he's distanced himself from every previous position he's held on government, the economy, the war...you know. Whatever.)

It's telling that Gramm thinks this should make us feel better.

It's true, perhaps, that the recession is all in our minds -- maybe there are no fewer goods being produced or purchased now than there were ten years ago? -- but it's also true that everything else is, too.

The value of money, for instance. Or faith in credit cards to pay our bills. Or the belief that we should pay bills. The value of gold.

Or, you know, the belief that other people exist.

I, for one, find it hard to believe that people like Phil Gramm exist.

Maybe if I quit whining and ignore him, he'll disappear.