"A nation of whiners"

I knew I'd heard that phrase before Henry Cate used it to describe his fellow countrymen who had "over-borrowed". Yes, it was first popularised by John McCain's former mentor in economics, Phil Gramm. Remember him? He's the guy who took special care to ensure that derivatives - those pesky little critters that have ended up making Paulson socialise the US financial system - were exempt from regulation. Whoever thought that a Republic presidency would end in socialism?! And who was the leader of McCain's wise team of economic advisers? It was little ol' Kevin Hassett, who told us all not that long ago that the Dow Jones Average was headed for 36,000 - I think that's when Henry Cate made his fabled investment pick. If enough Americans can overcome their innate racism on the first Toosday in November, maybe we won't have people like Gramm and Hassett running the presidency