Dude, don't EVEN get me started on this. The media's "God", Alan Greenspan, f'd up in a HUGE way by continuing to raise rates when it was obvious to even line employees like me that the economy was softening up way too fast, and sales were falling. This is one of the under-reported stories of that decade, and likely one of the many reasons Bush beat Al Gore.
Agree with the first part (and "The Maestro" screwed up a second time by leaving rates too low for too long which has led to the inflationary cycle we're in now). I just think W beat Algore because Algore is an idiot. Yes, the economy was softening, big time, but it was not a well reported story by the mainstream press at the time of the election. I think only the supply-side economists and certain industry stocks felt it was "bad" in November of 2000.