"Obama’s Fearmongering Has Damaged The Economy." 

John R. Lott Jr. wrote that headline in a Fox "News" blog forum on March 16th.  He argues a continuation of a newly developed argument strain being injected into the media by people with nothing to offer but continuing to 'just saying no.' 

Deny, offer conjecture and hope it takes hold.  There's nothing of substance in Lott's brand of argument.  It's a pure attempt at manipulation and you can watch this thing progress across media sources.  With this kind of thought process:

Facts don't happen. 
Facts take time.

President Obama clearly inherited a bad economy.  It seems unnecessary to argue something so obvious; however, John Lott Jr suggests, President Obama caused this bad economy by referring to the economy as being in "crisis" too often.  In his blog post, Lott details numerous occasions where President Obama referred to the economy as being in "crisis." 

(Side note: That's how government works in America, regardless of political party, it's been established and documented by scholars for a long time now.  Using "crisis" to move policy is a time honored tradition.  Politicians establish a "crisis" then deliver haphazard action in an attempt to "fix" the "crisis."  Generally, effects from this kind of political communication cycle are considered disheartening, at best; but there's little doubt that "crisis" produces results.  For examples refer to: 9/11's crisis impact on invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan; Communism crisis regarding Korean and Vietnam Wars; McCarthy-ism's crises and the House of American Activities Committee; 2 Live Crew's offensive rap lyrics and labels; war on drugs and prison population; or the Crises written by Thomas Paine supporting the American Revolution.)


Lott is trying to establish cause and effect to solidify his case, but he's not giving the full story.  Below are various references to our most current "economic crisis."  These references were all made by people other than Barack Obama.  The list is in no particular order, but covers the time period September 24th, 2008 to March 9th, 2009.

-Transcript: FOX News Sunday (March 08, 2009)
Sen. McCain: "The important thing right now is what you and I have just been talking about — job losses, health care unaffordability, the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression."

-Bush: "We are in the midst of a serious financial crisis."  (September 24th, 2008)




-"Bush Forced Into 'Diminished Role' in Economic Crisis" ABC News (Oct. 9, 2008)

-"52.7 Million Watched President Bush’s Economic Crisis Address" (September 26th, 2008)

-"President George W. Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he'll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession." -Associated Press (Dec. 2, 2008)

-"As the economic crisis worsens — with seemingly with no end in sight — I have been watching the TV coverage, listening carefully to the radio and reading all the blogs."  Fox News (March 9th, 2009)

-"Official: Global Economic Crisis Undermining U.S. Security in Middle East." Fox News (February 13, 2009)

-"Lawmakers Cite Economic Crisis in Effort to Ban Death Penalty." Fox News (February 24, 2009)