Either there really are doomsday indicators circulating in Democratic circles or they’re coordinating exceptionally well to panic the public into giving The One whatever he wants, because we’re hearing more of this every day. First there were the anonymous murmurs from inside the transition team about the economy looking vastly worse than they’d anticipated. Then came David Obey this morning ranting how close we are to falling into a “massive, massive hole” unless Bush passes a giant spending package right this instant. And now here’s Greasy Joe, ducking and covering unless we hand Obama upwards of a trillion dollars to save the world:

“The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in,” Biden told me during an exclusive interview — his first since becoming vice president-elect — to air this Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

“There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That’s the only short run,” Biden told me…

“Every single person I’ve spoken to agrees with every major economist. There is going to be real significant investment, whether it’s $600 billion or more, or $700 billion, the clear notion is, it’s a number no one thought about a year ago,” he said.

In fairness, Nouriel “Dr. Doom” Roubini also thinks at least a $500 billion stimulus is needed to keep things moving as private consumption evaporates. Does the increasingly alarmist rhetoric make it more or less likely to happen, though? As a pessimist, I’m supposed to eat this stuff up and even I’m getting panic fatigue. Every Democratic setback comes with a fresh whiff of disaster, even as Rahm Emanuel’s running around telling people what a sweet opportunity all this is for the left “to do things that you could not do before.” I thought we elected Cool Hand Luke because he doesn’t sweat when things get tough or resort to the politics of fear, an especially useful trait given that part of the economic slump is due to a crisis of confidence. How confident do you feel after reading Biden’s comments?

Read Irwin Stelzer’s piece in the Standard on the blank check we’re about to hand Obama — and how the economic forecasts really might be as dire as everyone fears. Exit question: Is it okay to yell “fire” in a crowded theater if there really is a fire?