Axelrod: If Tax Cuts Aren't Done Before The Election, 'We Will Insist On It After'

Presidential administrations don't do that unless they are hoping it will spur one; the mere whisper of the word can be so powerful as to undermine consumer confidence which causes people to stop spending, which was Cheney's purpose for doing it.  

Cheney wanted to undermine confidence in order to drive the economy into a recession because the Bush administration needed a rationale for the tax cuts for the rich that they had promised during the campaign (instead of using the projected surplus from the Clinton administration for shoring up Social Security), or putting the money away for a 'rainy day' (like, should you find yourself in a war).  

From that day in December, 2008 and for each day thereafter, Bush & Cheney created an impression of a worsening economy until it actually became a reality.  They got into the White House on 1/20/01; economists have dated the beginning of the recession to 3/01.  
http://mediamatters.org/research/200405010002

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