Ah, Barbara Ehrenreich... we do have a love-hate relationship.  On the one hand, I find her endeavors to be quite Interesting and to make important points about American society.  On the other, she has a Michael Moore poke-you-in-the-eye type approach that can get under my skin a little.  Anyway, she wrote an interesting op-ed about American Optimism and the current economic crisis in the NYT this morning.  Of course, I don't quite agree with her - as I've said before, American optimism is one of the few things that make my unpatriotic heart beat just a little bit faster.  But, she makes a good point, everything in moderation...