Local media on 'recovering' economy

A headline on a television news stations news updates in Columbus, Ohio, had its obligatory story on the State of the Union. But I noticed something.

In the headline and each instance that they cited Bush's discussion of the economy, they put "recovering" or "reviving" in quotes. Now, you don't have to put single words in quotes to indicate the speaker said them. It's perfectly acceptable to paraphrase. But a journalist will put single words in quotes to convey irony.

I found it both amusing and heartening to see this in the center of a swing state. People are starting to notice.