As George W. Bush vacates the White House, his twin daughters have passed on some advice to the Obama girls — find loyal friends, slide down the banisters, and remember who your dad really is.

Barbara and Jenna Bush, 27, reflected on their years in the White House in an open letter to 10-year-old Malia Obama and her 7-year-old sister Sasha, in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. 

“We also first saw the White House through the innocent, optimistic eyes of children,” they wrote, recalling that they were only seven when their grandfather George Bush was sworn in as the 41st president in 1989.

“Our seven-year-old imaginations soared as we played in the enormous, beautiful rooms; our dreams, our games, as romantic as their surroundings. At night, the house sang us quiet songs through the chimneys as we fell asleep.”

The twins returned to the White House in 2001 after their father was elected 43rd president of the United States.

“The White House welcomed us back and there is no doubt that it is a magical place at any age,” wrote Jenna, an author and school teacher, and Barbara, who has worked for museums and charities.

The twins advised the Obama girls to “absorb it all, enjoy it all,” as four years go by fast. They also recommended surrounding themselves with loyal friends and told them to cherish their pets “because sometimes you’ll need the quiet comfort that only animals can provide.”

Also, slide down the banister of the solarium, go to T-ball games, have swimming parties and play on the White House lawn.

But they cautioned that life as the First Daughters would not always be easy with their father portrayed differently than the man they know.

“Many people will think they know him, but they have no idea how he felt the day you were born, the pride he felt on your first day of school, or how much you both love being his daughters,” they wrote. “So here is our most important piece of advice: remember who your dad really is.”

Today marks the end of the Bush stock market.

He has presided over the evisceration of more than $4.6 trillion of U.S. stock market wealth as measured by the S&P 500.

By comparison, the S&P 500 gained more than $9 trillion in value under the eight years of Bill Clinton's administration.

The Senate returns to debate a bailout for struggling automakers and consider additional stimulus money to prop up the struggling economy.
    
Democrats hope to pass both measures in their brief “lame duck” session, but they face opposition from Republicans in the chamber as well as President George W. Bush, who reiterated on Monday morning that any Detroit aid should come from the $700 billion already appropriated to prop up the economy.
    
In Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama will meet at noon EST with John McCain, his recent rival for the White House.  “It’s well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality,” Obama’s transition team said on Monday. 
    
Obama and McCain will be joined by their two favorite wingmen — future White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, respectively.
    
McCain might put in a good word for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is reported to be on Obama’s short list for Secretary of State. McCain and Clinton downed vodka shots together on a trip to Estonia a few years back.
    
 Back in the Senate, the Finance Committee will cross-examine the man who has been nominated to oversee the $700 billion bailout program. Neil Barofsky, the assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York who has been nominated to be Special Inspector General of the Treasury Department’s Troubled Assets Relief Program, testifies at 2 p.m.
    
The House is not in session, but new members elected two weeks ago are in town for an orientation session and a class photo. House Democratic leaders say they will quickly pass any bailout packages that clear the Senate.
    
U.S. stocks are expected to open lower as investors continue to fear a deep and lengthy global recession. According to one group of economists, we’re already there: real GDP is expected to fall 2.6 percent in the final quarter of this year and 1.3 percent in the first three months of 2009, according to a survey of 50 professional forecasters conducted by the National Association of Business Economists.