Both from Fareed Zakaria.

June 8: “The American economy might surprise us by the year-end. Many economists and businessmen believe that although the current slowdown could turn into a recession, a financial collapse is now highly unlikely.”

Today: “Whether it’s Barack Obama or John McCain who enters the White House in January, the new president could well find his approval ratings sliding fast. The increasingly grim economic news is likely to overshadow all else.”

Either it has been a very bad month, or the first few weeks of 2009 are going to be a doozy.