Never mind the credit crisis, record energy prices, declines in payrolls, wages, and house prices. John McCain’s economic adviser, Phil Gramm, thinks US economic woes are merely psychological.

The Times said Gramm said he expects a McCain administration would inherit an economy “weighed down above all by the conviction of many Americans that economic conditions are the worst in two or three decades and that America is in decline.”

The Times quoted him as saying: “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.”

McCain distanced himself from these remarks as the Democrats tried to frame it as if he doesn’t care about the hardships of the working class.

While we’re sure that positive thinking would probably be somewhat beneficial we do hope that McCain might have a slightly more robust plan for improving the economy as part of his platform.