The D Word and The Answer

There's a story on Reuters that our local news picked up, alerting us all that the current recession could be the worst since World War II. Unless I wasn't paying attention in history class (and I wasn't), the nation was not in a recession in World War II, but was actually climbing out of the Great Depression.

So I'm guessing what they mean is that this recession may be the worst since the Depression. I can imagine the editors sitting around, wondering what to do with this stink bomb - just come out and say it? It's news. You gotta report the news. But there must be a gentler way to say the D thing without saying the D thing. Isn't it odd that World War II is a more positive thought for the American people than the Great Depression? I'm thinking that the War was way more deadly, and yet not so much of a bummer, with all the us-against-them rallying. That's what an economic disaster is missing - some juicy us-against-them feelings. 

Wait a minute - didn't Hitler attempt to cure Germany's economic and cultural woes brought on by World War I and the Great Depression by stirring up some serious and seriously messed-up us-versus-them trouble?

Maybe if we need a good us-versus-them to get us back on our feet, we should start now, so it doesn't get all Reich-y. What if we personify, or if you will, anthropomorphize, this recession so we could all fight against it like the action-loving tribe we are. We could make him up like a comic book character.  

We should start with a name. Like Dr. Subprime: The Credit Killer.  Or Darth Greenspan: The Bank Buster. Or Attack of the IndyMacadon: The Job Crusher.

Or, you know, something better. I welcome your suggestions.