Love the way she governs here in AZ. Saw what Ron R as governor did in CA when I lived there and saw what kind of "non-executive" functions the Governor of TX has (think Bush . . .the power resides with the Lt. Gov, not the "titular" Governor. Plus their "gummint" only meets every two years for about 120 days. Go figure.)

Janet Napolitano is more than qualified to be Prez or VP, but the best she'll ever get might be Senator or a Cabinet post.

Why? She's not married. There's a reason she's not married. This is not a good reason to keep her from a national ticket, but when I see the press and the public all verklempt over "a black man," "a woman from NY," "a woman from Alaska that dresses caribou," "a Jew," (altho glad he's not on anyone's ticket), then I know the U.S. is not ready for a . . .

But, she doesn't text-mess House pages or get caught in restrooms. She'd have been a hell of an asset to the party.

It's 11:36 Pacific Time (here in AZ). The Dow is down 488 right now. I woke up early and watched the Dow open at 6:30 Pacific/9:30 Eastern. I thought it was funny for the first two minutes. I don't have any money in stocks, because I have no money.

But, in 7 minutes (literally, 7 minutes), I saw the Dow drop roughly 676. A hundred points per minute. And I became scared. But, I was watching history in action. However, I was still shocked. The Dow did rally; however, it is now down 488, nearing noon in the West.

I'm not working. Looking for a job. Roommate wants a fancier new cellphone (look, she's 58, "who do you need to text message?" Come on!)And I'm reliving stories Mom and Dad told me about the very, very long Depression/WWII years. I'm 53. I remember the "odd/even" license plate days of the 70s gas rationing. And I heard about the "gas rationing cards" of the war.

I don't know how "our" generation might handle a "Great Depression." Which "generation" is he talking about? The "Baby Boomers" who heard/learned of their parents' experience? The later "Baby Boomers" who came of age in the 80s? I'm born in the middle of the Boomers (1955). Turning 21 in 1984 is different from my experience of 1976 and certainly from the first Boomers from roughly 1942 to 1945.

Handling a new "Great Depression?" My neighbors don't know it, but I look out for their houses during the day as I'm in the front or back yard. I don't know their names, but I'm watching in case someone stupid decides to vandalize or steal cars or try to quietly bust in to their houses.

I see many more homes for sale. I see more "regular" types of people looking for a "hand-out" or help, and not just the people we all looked at as "bums."

This is how we will handle the new, very possible "Great Depression." We are all our brothers and sisters keepers. We will help our friends, neighbors and family. We will quietly take care of each other. Black/White, gay/straight, Repub/Dem, illegal alien/US born . . .friend/stranger . . .we will quietly take care of each other.

And hopefully we will vote in a better government . . .for the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, of the PEOPLE . . .Oh, how did the gold faucets work out for one of those billionaires/criminals from a couple of years ago? It wasn't Enron, but someone from some company we all knew.

Oh! Please! An Emmy nomination for Tina Fey's Sarah Palin!

Well, we're now only down 148 at 12:20 PST.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Dow's highest, over 14,000. It was a very bad anniversary yesterday for the Dow.

Tighten your belts, don't buy a new car unless you have to. Do you really need a new couch or can we wait a couple of months? Hmm, instead of eating out, maybe we should BBQ at home more (check the prices of the meat, though. You'd be surprised at what different cuts of meat/poultry costs now. Cuts that used to be cheap . . .Ha!). Hmm, what new recipes of beans can I find at foodnetwork.com?

PAY OFF YOUR DEBT. ESPECIALLY CREDIT CARD DEBT.

But we'll be okay. It's anyone over 45/50 that is now, hopefully only slightly, panicking. But, that might be driving this.

Regulation isn't wrong. And overbuying of companies by other companies isn't always right. BofA is buying everything they can. Very big isn't alway "very right."

I believe it is "Libby" Dole, not "Liddy" Dole. Actually, Bob Dole is very nice and funny when he's not running for office. Libby, we need to replace you with a Dem.

Max was and is a great American hero and a great addition to the Senate. Maybe he'll re-run again. We need him.

I so agree with "lagata." I'm a serious, hard-core yellow dog Dem, but Sarah is fabulous. She is very, very pretty. She can talk well ('course she can't talk about the issues we are really worried about, but, oh, well.) The rear shots of her at the VP debate shows she has great legs and a nice bottom.

She apparently is not un-humorous. Really, I'm voting for Barack or my really yellow dog, Sparky, but she's got TV written all over her. God, I hate saying that . . .but, it's true.

Completely disagree with her politics. I think she's lied. Is she likeable? Yes. Is she TV photogenic? Yes. Is she smarter than we are giving her credit for? Absolutely.

M_Twain: yes, I looked it up. It is "Liddy." I just assumed that because my middle name is "Elisabeth," that the nickname would or should be "Libby."

Still, she needs to go.

But, thanks for the correction, Twain! LOL.