OMG! OMG! January-September 2006 Warmest on Record!

What's wrong with this headline from NOAA? Could it be that the Bush Administration science spin doctors are at it again? The official headline for the summer temperature round-up report pictured above emphasizes that September was cooler than usual, while the color-coded map below clearly shows that temperatures ranged from above normal to record warmest in every mainland state in the nation. As the news release reveals in the less important second and third paragraphs, the summer overall was the second warmest on record and the "January-September 2006 combined temperature is the warmest on record." The previous January-September combined temperature record was set in 2000. The red and orange in the map above should be enough to dispel any notions that it's getting any cooler in the U.S., but someone apparently thinks September is more important, perhaps because it's just weeks before the elections and all.