The old New Deal says, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself." The new New Deal says, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." People "can't pay their bills" and have "stopped spending money." Americans have "no idea what to do or who to turn to," and their "lives have been turned upside-down." A "failure to act will only deepen this crisis" and produce "deficits that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe." Did I mention that this is the "most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression"? "[A]ct without delay." "It is only government that can break the vicious cycle, where lost jobs lead to people spending less money, which leads to even more layoffs." My name is Barack Obama, and I scare people for a living.

It looks like with this new, new, really new (honest!) Deal, not only do we have to fear fear itself, but we have to fear everything else!

So wha' happened to all this Hope and Change I kept hearing about during the campaign?

Uncle Tomma Obomba,like skeer'in folks. This puppet aint nuttin, but a shoe shinner fo piglosie and Joe Blow Biden.

Dan, I've read your blog for the last few years and really enjoy it. This is my first comment: thank you! I thought I was the only one who was thinking that this rhetoric is absurd.