However you wish to measure George Bush as a world leader...he just comes up short. As recently as last year people were touting the economy as one (perhaps the only) area in which he has had some success....now even that has vanished.(Don't say "what about the Iraq war?" unless you want an earful...):mrgreen:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=worldwideU.S. Stocks Slide to Five-Year Lows as Banks, Carmakers Tumble By Eric Martin Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks sank and benchmark indexes slid to their lowest levels since 2003 on growing concern over the health of the financial system and survival of the nation's car industry. Citigroup Inc. tumbled 23 percent to $6.40, a 13-year low, on a plan to buy $17.4 billion of troubled investment-fund assets. General Motors Corp. slid 9.7 percent to its lowest price since the 1940s, while Ford Motor Co. lost 25 percent. Fourteen companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 20 percent or more as government data signaled the recession is deepening and expectations grew that insurers will post more investment losses. ``Hideous day,'' said Bill Stone, who oversees $56 billion as chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia. ``It's hard to put a basement on this thing.'' The S&P 500 plunged 6.1 percent to 806.58 and extended its 2008 retreat to 45 percent, poised for its worst year since 1931. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 427.47 points, or 5.1 percent, to 7,997.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 6.5 percent to 1,386.42. Thirty stocks fell for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.6 billion shares changed hands, 8.6 percent more than the three-month average.