The Obamarathon last night crystallized some of my thinking about the approach that I see cutting across the statists’ various campaigns, with global warming alarmism being one front in their assault on individual and economic liberties. Henry Payne’s post earlier this afternoon reports on one front in this multi-pronged assault.

The campaign of describing the economy as in “the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression” is to solidify a narrative for a reason, one bigger than the usual reason the economy is run down every four or eight years at this time of the year — electoral gain.

Now, despite uncertainties and crises at present, Obama’s claim is facially absurd: we face instead the worst economic crisis since the early 1980s. Of course, saying “that’s not true” about the Great Depression analogy is not politically feasible, because no one who is hurting wants to hear his or her personal circumstance diminished — even if they aren’t at the end of a long breadline.

But nothing is politically difficult with noting that we are in the worse economic crunch since the early 1980s. Unfortunately, using that counter-narrative as an affirmative message in response to the Depression-mongering has not occurred to many political leaders. Senator McCain might want to think about trying it over the next few days.

Because the reason for all the Depression-mongering is to prepare the ground for the imposition of Depression-era programs. Simply read Sen. Obama’s plan and the even grander dreams of his supporters. The public’s response to the alternate narrative that this is instead the worst crisis since the 1980s would prompt not a New New Deal, but a call for early 1980s-style policies. And that’s the one thing the statists cannot tolerate; it surely is not the goal behind claiming that we are reliving the Great Depression.

This parallels the global-warming debate in its doomsaying — the end-of-days salesmanship used to frighten people into an agenda they otherwise would not rationally adopt. So far, it is clear, the climate campaign has yet to stir the public into accepting those plans — quite possibly because the public regularly fears, in good times and bad, increased energy costs (whether imposed by the state or not).

But have no doubt, the “green jobs” chimera will not flinch in the face of economic uncertainty, but now is brazenly a part of the proposed government rescue. When Obama promises a New WPA-style “We will hire young people who don’t have a trade and give them a trade making homes more energy efficient, insulating homes, changing light bulbs,” you should hear one more reason to read “The Forgotten Man.”