Indeed, there are signs that the economy is cooling off a bit. Until posting its largest gain ever on Tuesday, the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off by half. Big Business –- as in those old economy companies that actually make something –- is cutting back on purchases of new machinery like (Woe is Silicon Valley!) computers. Auto sales are down. And consumers say they feel less confident about next year, even as they spend a bit more this holiday season than they did a year ago.

But the real problem lies in Washington's spin culture, not the economy itself. While a ton of negative economic news has made it into the headlines in recent weeks, none by itself or in concert should tip the economy into recession. Unless, that is, someone wants one.

But for the time being, Scrooge is ruling over economic punditry land. Taking their cues from short-term stock traders who have suffered sizable drops in their portfolios this year, the gurus of the new economy are all doom and gloom.

James Cramer, whose TheStreet.com is just a few dollars per share away from landing exactly where its name implies, is the worst offender. His Dec. 4 New York magazine cover story on the coming recession would have gotten this year's award for being the earliest out of the box with an incorrect prediction, except that Business Week's chief new-economy booster, Michael Mandel, beat him to the punch with an Oct. 9 cover excerpt in that august publication providing the same reading of the tea leaves.

Sunday's New York Times landed on doorsteps with no fewer than three articles outlining possible permutations for an economic breakdown. And the Wall Street Journal, uncharacteristically late to the table, is now seeking to recover lost ground by predicting the Fed may be getting ready to ride to the rescue. Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reports warned that "the economy is closer to a recession than it has been in over a decade and we could be in for a hard landing." And last Friday, Journal editorialist Peggy Noonan, channeling the voice of Al Gore, joked that the next guy in the White House "gets the recession anyway."

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