My guess: because self-indulgent wallowing in hysterical gloom is more fun.

Or it sells better. Or serves an agenda, which a cynic might attribute to the new President’s almost daily monologue on deepening and worsening ecomomic gloom.

(a President is supposed to lead, not reinforce negativity and spin non-stop self-fulfilling prophecies)

When “the news” in Iraq turned even slightly positive, the topic began to drop off the front pages of newspapers. The spirit there seemed to be…we don’t want to report anything good happening in Iraq under GWB !