Oh Yeah. This Is Where I'd Want My Old-Age Security To Be Invested. Not.

MarketWatch is reporting that the stock market is in the shitter.

Wall Street roiled by Middle East conflict
Crude spikes to highs; consumer sentiment weakens; retail sales fall

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 100 points for a third session, as Israel intensified its offensive in Lebanon.

Weak retail sales and consumer-sentiment data as well as some disappointment over General Electric Co's results added to negative sentiment. Stock losses mounted as Israel pressed its advantage in Lebanon, with reports of air strikes targeting a Hezbollah radio station.

"I don't think the market, without the Middle East, would have sprung back to new highs," said Steve Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co. "We would have spent much of the time backing and filling, and I think the trends in the Middle East added to this acceleration of a downtrend. Now, we're going to have spend some time trying to form a base once again."

On the broader market for equities, decliners outpaced advancers by around 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. By sector, airlines continued to reel from the higher oil prices. Internet stocks, computer hardware stocks and transportation companiesall moved lower. . . . Oil services also pulled back.
. . .
Crude-oil futures struck a record above $78 a barrel in overnight trading, propelled higher as Israel stepped up its offensive against Lebanon, bombing the Beirut airport for a second day, as well as roads, power and communications infrastructure.

Strangely, only a few short months ago, our president was pushing a plan that would have placed the old-age security of millions of Americans into the stock market. He and his echo chamber did a great job of "catapulting the propaganda" that suggested that it was actually better for Americans to have their old-age security invested in the stock market than in, for example, the current Social Security system. And, Fox News reports that Congressional Republicans plan to make "privatization" a top priority in 2007. It's funny how they shut up about this stuff during election seasons (Anyone remember Bush making a big deal about it in the run-up to the 2004 election? Me either.) and then, as soon as the election's over, it's a "top priority" for them.

Some bright, enterprising Democrat might want to use today's stock market results to point out just how wrong Bush was.