WH: Katrina effect to be limited

Another trip into cognitive dissonance land with the Bush White house:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Katrina is likely to have only a modest impact on the U.S. economy, White House economic adviser Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday. "As long as we find that the energy impact is only temporary and there's not permanent damage to the infrastructure, my guess is that the effects on the overall economy will be fairly modest," Bernanke told CNBC television.

OK, excuse me, but haven't this WH and its supporters been blaming years of recession, job loss and eventual anemic recovery on 9/11? So how can this far larger event have only "modest" effect?

The truth is, they may be right about this. But will anyone in the SCLM note the inconsistancy of this statement with their prior claims? I think not.