Black Monday

The House of Representatives unexpectedly voted down the $700 billion bail-out rescue bill--so surprisingly that John McCain had already taken credit for its passage.

The stock market promptly lost 777 points, with a value of $1.2 trillion.

It was considered a "catastrophic" political defeat for Bush and Republicans, who failed to come up with the votes they promised in the House. However, it may have brought a little sobriety to Wall Street execs and traders, who earlier in the day reportedly fretted that the package wasn't big enough or sweet enough for them.

Barack Obama counselled calm, assuring voters that a rescue package will eventually pass. He continues to insist that this economy must be rebuilt from the bottom up, by changing the emphasis of government from favoring Wall Street and the wealthy, to providing programs (jobs, health care, tax relief, clean energy economics), oversight and incentives that favor Main Street and working families.