US in a mild recession?

There are two ways of looking at the world.

If we take the first one, or the glass half-empty, we can see this global downturn as a horrible time to get a job, to save money, to launch yourself into a start-up becoming an entrepreneur...

In the second one, or seeing the glass half-full, we could be seeing the opportunities that arise, the possibility to offer or to enter into new fields, as every soul and company have stopped every new venture, trying to save themselves from this temporary hell.

But Mr. Obama just invented another one. He sees everything FULL. A GDP shrink of 1.2 percent are his estimates for 2009. I hope he realizes that, given the revision of the GDP that showed the REAL decline (6.2% from the previous 3.8) of the US economy, preparing a best-case scenario could be disastrous for its economy.

I agree he has the duty and objective of renewing US citizen's trust in the economy, but this is too much, Mr. President...

Japanese companies were buying enormous stakes in US counterparts at the end of 2008, as the government assured the crisis would not have a severe effect there. Now, a 12% decline in GDP may show that they were wrong... maybe...

Please, optimism is great, but REALISM is needed!!!!

(I completely refuse talking about Spain... what a mess :( )