They are correct in a general sense, but not in the blame they are putting on Mr. Rogers specifically. While it is not the cause of all problems in society or with "Generation X", the education system in general and it's "self validation" of students has caused a lot of problems. Children are conditioned from an early age with optimistic messages of "your special, you can do anything", including ones that are obviously not going to go anywhere or are severely handicapped. I mean heck, they even do this in "Special Ed." classes with students who can't even go to classes normally. Kids who grow up thinking they really can all be doctors, astronauts, or presidents are of course going to be depressed when as adults they wind up getting into the general rut of existance that is real life. Society is competitive and simply put the world needs far more people at the bottom than at the top, and the best/most gifted/most ruthless people are going to be at the top. Even if "good" by objective standards it's all about how good you are compared to the other guy.
I generally tend to blame most problems nowadays on "The Baby Boomers", that is the generation that were the parents of "Generation X". Not only are there the sociological aspects of "Gen X" being skipped over since the Boomers lived longer than previous generations and never stepped down from their jobs at the same time "Gen Xers" were getting old enough where they would normally be moving into the shoes of the previous generation (which also caused a lot of the social security problems, contributed to the recession, and other issues but it would get well of topics), but the "Baby Boomers" also created and embraced the whole "Peace and Love", anti-goverment counter culture that lead to this kind of self-validation, and ridiculously and impractically optimistic way of looking at the world. Everyone is special, there is no excuse for violence ever (look at an article here on The Escapist about Mcdonalds being griped at for having super hero toys due to the violence inherant in super heroes), and what I view as being a ridiculous amount of anti-goverment sentiment, as justified as protests againt "Vietnam" might have wound up being, there is such a thing as going too far, and I think right now there is a certain idealogy that people think we can all manage to magically have a society without goverment, laws, or any kind of authority figures (which by definition must always be corrupt and evil in every conceivable way).
Simply put I think Mr. Rogers wound up being an extension of this kind of attitude, even if unintentional, rather than one who created it. He's well known, because those of us in "Generation X" all listened to the guy, and he was considered wholesome by our parents because he was saying that they thought were the right things.
Criticisms of this attitude are not new, they simply have been mostly drowned out, largely by liberals who embrace that way of thinking. I'm sure a lot of us remember "Dana Carvey" and his routines where he turned "Special" (as in "isn't that special") into a term of mockery largely based on what kids, especially "Special Ed." kids were being taught, and did elaborate routines mocking the idea, usually involving the most disgusting and retarded thing imaginable happening and then some teacher referring to it as "Special" rather than bad.
You also have the issue of parents hopes and dreams even beyond the boomers, something embodied in attempts to make educational programs like "No Child Left Behind". The pragmatic approach to school is to do testing, single out the kids who really are special to have their talent developed, and then educate the rest in a more pragmatic sense to have realistic expectations and fit in at the level of "worker drones" where they are likely to wind up. However, no parent wants to be told their kid is merely average and is going nowhere special. They want everyone to have the same oppertunities despite not all men being created equal. Passionate arguements are made about people who were considered to be dumb and yet managed to succeed to an overwhelming degree. Battle cries like "Einstein was retarded" are common along with the point that while one of the smartest men ever, he apparently carried a load around in his pants a lot of the time and (allegedly) needed help to clean himself. Given that most kids are going to be average, below average, or exceptional but not exceptional enough to warrent special treatment, this means of course most parents are not going to be happy with a practical school system. Telling every kid they are special even after testing plays to them as well as the kids.
Within all of this is of course the fear that a more practical approach to education and preparing the young for their futures, would turn things into some kind of brainwashed society out of "1984" or "Metropolis" and admittedly I do see the potential for things to
go there if things were not watched carefully.
I guess the overall point I'm making is that I agree with "Fox News" here, not so much on Mr. Rogers being evil, but that an unconditional message of "your special" is a bad thing drill into kids from the near beginning of their life. I think it tends to wind up shattering people who wind up being ordinary, and probably has a lot to do with the massive amount of medication people in America consume for depression, anxiety, and midlife criseses.
That said, Mr. Rogers was very dedicated to helping children, even if he (like many things oriented at young children) seemed creepy if you weren't a child. He was a good man, and if this message wasn't the best thing that could have been put out there he meant well. I also have massive respect for Bill Cosby even if I don't agree with a lot of his politics, because he's also been very dedicated to children's issues and I believe even has a PHD in Children's Education.
