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Chris Matthews actually asked an astute question of his panel on the Chris Matthews Show Sunday: Will the economy impact the election next year? (The assumption predicated on the idea that we're heading into a recession) Whether or not we're heading into a recession is really besides the point (hell, the last time we had one, many of these pundits were on TV denying that existed anyway), the fact is that people are feeling the crunch. Our dollars just don't go as far and a lot of people are really struggling. The sub-prime market is downright scary and home foreclosures are going through the roof. Few of us are really feeling any benefits of those vaunted tax cuts that the Republicans hold up as their ultimate trump card.

But if you're feeling the pain, my brothers and sisters, don't blame the President and the demonstrably failed approach of borrow and spend he's taken. Oh no. WaPo's Kathleen Parker** wants you to know that if you perceive the economy as being bad, it's probably because you're living in a blue state.

I think Joe is exactly right. It’s really a matter of perception because we hear $9 billion a month in Iraq and we got bridges collapsing. We got things like that seem like the economy is just falling apart, we can’t fix anything. But if you really look, if you want to go looking for problems, you can find them. And the best place to look is Michigan, where you just were. If you look at unemployment rates in this country, there at an all time low: 4%. But in Michigan, where Democrats have been in charge, they’re over 7%. So if you’re looking at places where the economy is doing poorly, the Democrats are in charge.

** Sorry, I got my conservative columnists confused. Thanks to Dennis for calling my attention to it.