“The government’s language has been all doom and gloom: they’re...

“The government’s language has been all doom and gloom: they’re scaring the pants off people and we’re talking ourselves into this recession,” said Fraser, whose seven-year stint as governor ended in September 1996. “People are not about to spend their stimulus, which is exactly what needs to happen for confidence to improve.”

He's right you know. Rudd and Swan naively think that if they prepare people for the worst then when it's not so bad everyone will think well of them. What they didn't factor in was that they are merely making self-fulfilling prophecies. If the government thinks it's bad then it must be even worse, so the cycle continues.

I hope Rudd wakes up to himself before he talks us into totally tanking, even when we're not! This will be known as the Rudd depression if he doesn't watch what he says and how he says it.

Maybe Obama's message of hope and encouragement will carry some weight and offset to some extent the Rudd message of "we might as well give up now".