From Holden:

Last year the Bush administration set a new record for the highest trade deficit ever, $489.4 billion.

But that’s not good enough for the RESOLUTE George W. Bush. Oh, no, this year we’re on track to shatter that record by a full $100 billion:

The US trade deficit, propelled by a record foreign oil bill, surged to $54 billion (R355 billion) in August, the second-highest level in history.

The politically sensitive deficit with China hit a new high as US retailers upped their orders for cellphones, toys and televisions.

The commerce department said the August trade deficit in goods and services was 6.9 percent higher than in July.

For the year, the US trade deficit is running at a record annual rate of $590 billion, 19 percent higher than the previous record set last year.

In August, imports jumped 2.5 percent to a record $150.1 billion on the back of a 12.2 percent leap in petroleum shipments to $15.6 billion.

This dwarfed the 0.1 percent rise in exports, although sales of American cars and motor parts abroad did fetch a record $7.8 billion in August.