Bush on our "Sound" economy and financial system

"I readily concede it [offshore drilling] won't produce a barrel of oil tomorrow, but it will reverse the psychology"
-GW BUSH, 7/15/08 as quoted from MSNBC

""I understand there's a lot of nervousness," Bush said. "The economy is growing. Productivity is high. Trade's up. People are working — it's not as good as we'd like."
-GW BUSH, 7/15/08 as quoted from MSNBC

...This sounds an awful lot like McCain confidant and former adviser Sen. Phil Graham who said the economy's problems were all in people's heads.

Are certain pockets of the Republican party (like McCain, GW Bush, Phil Graham) even remotely based in reality? Or are they all just as clueless as they sound.