Yes, they really are that stupid

As manifestly absurd and manipulative as the Bush spin on the deficit numbers is, and as consistent with previous bamboozlements as their crowing is, you might think the press would avoid adopting the "look how much better things are getting" happy horseshit being shoveled.

You might think that the press might notice and point out that the goalposts on this metric, as with so many others, have been mounted on low-friction dollies to facilitate easy movement.

You'd be wrong.

Nota bene: deliberately lowballing a prediction, then beating your own estimate is not the same thing as winning. (OTOH, that is how the press covered Bush's appalling debate performances, so I can understand why the White House tends to stick withthis tactic.)

Brad DeLong explains in more detail.