OR MAYBE IT’S JUST THE MEDIA HYPE THAT’S BUSTING: Obama baby boom: Predicted surge in births goes bust. “On Nov. 4, the hope and happiness seemed boundless for supporters of President-elect Barack Obama, leading some to speculate, with a wink and a nod, that in nine months there would be a virtual Obama baby boom — a celebratory uptick in the national birthrate. But now, 40 weeks later — the average human gestation period — MSNBC is reporting the prediction has largely been nothing more than, well, false hope.” And not the last such, I suspect.