So Phil Gramm, who supports John McCain in November, says, “We have sort of become a nation of whiners.”

A good response from John McCain would have been something like, “Damn straight! And it’s time to wean the American people from their dependence on the government, restore their civil liberties, get them back in the driver’s seat, and foster individual responsibility, independence, and innovation!”

Instead, McCain’s campaign just illustrated Gramm’s point with a whiny response:

John McCain travels the country every day talking to Americans who are hurting, feeling pain at the pump and worrying about how they’ll pay their mortgage. That’s why he has a realistic plan to deliver immediate relief at the gas pump, grow our economy, and put Americans back to work.

Or, translated out of politico-speak and back into English:

John McCain loves listening to Americans whine. That’s why he wants to use the government to make sure they are pampered with low prices, federal subsidies, and guaranteed jobs.

Barack Obama’s people didn’t do much better:

The American people know that our economic problems aren’t just in their heads. They don’t need psychological relief – they need real relief – and that’s what Barack Obama will provide as president.

It’s a little more vague, but the message is clear: There, there. Don’t bother trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Just look to the federal government for all your needs.

So, once again, just like with that thing General Clark said last week, the candidates’ supporters are right on the money, but the candidates are worried that they’ll be labeled “elitists.” So there will be no straight talk or calling out the American people for what they are—a bunch of infantile, ignorant, obese, government-dependent whiners who could use a good slap in the face.

Yeah, what we need is a Simon Cowell for our national ego, not these soft-pedaling politicians.