If you like investment returns,

I don't put much weight on such numbers and graphics. The over-lapping of the administration and congress is never constant, and the graph doesn't take into consideration at what point each administration took over the economy.

U.S. reports grim data, EU vows to shield economy
EDDIE EVANS
Reuters
October 16, 2008 at 1:02 PM EDT

NEW YORK " Major U.S. banks reported huge losses and other companies painted a grim outlook for the battered U.S. economy on Thursday as Europe vowed to shield its industries from the global crisis.

EU leaders pushed plans for a global summit to overhaul the world financial system, as Switzerland took on $60-billion (U.S.) of bad debt from UBS, and European stocks fell.

In the United States, investment bank Merrill Lynch wrote down $5.7-billion in toxic assets and Citigroup reported a quarterly net loss of $2.8-billion. Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. cut its earnings forecast for the year and big U.S. manufacturers braced for a slowdown.

U.S. industrial production posted its biggest drop in 34 years in September, while factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region fell to an 18-year low in October.

“We should anticipate further declines in employment and softness in most components of demand for goods and services,” said Gary Stern, President of the Minneapolis Fed.