California had a growing secessionist movement, before 9/11. The energy crisis had pushed many of us to try and distance ourselves from the Bush administration, after their operatives at Enron precipitated that crisis. The energy crisis led to the recall election of a sitting Democratic governor, who was replaced by a moderate Republican, who tried in several instances to tow the party line. (The official line on Deregulation is bunk, deliberate abuse of the market is what led to the trouble, and Enron and its corrupt financial structure were merely a tool of a far greater power)

It was only after he lost that special initiative election that he became a moderate.

9/11 dashed a number of these movements. California has a fair amount of energy, and with a serious effort toward renewable energy, could be become energy independent. Being an energy independent state is prerable to being an energy exporting state. I haven't heard much about what Alaskans think about this, but if they think about it much they will reject the idea of drilling in Anwar, and Palin could use the backlash to restate her ideas on Alaskan independence.

Nations which rely primarily on commodity exports almost never develop better economies. They tend to become corrupt, suffer the environmental degradation of pollution, and endure wealth distribution and class disparities. There are probably people in Alaska right now, who are complaining about what more drilling means for the state. (Exxon Valdez)

McCain may have done a most clever thing, by appointing the state governor to his VP slot, although it is obvious to most that they cannot win (Stock market down 300+ today; sell the rumor, buy the news- Headline: Republican campaign is finished)

What happens to the drill Alaska meme once Sarah Palin heads home? A Republican controlled Washington might have gone after a less accomodating governor, like they went after Gray Davis in California, if Palin had not been open to the idea of drilling as much oil as possible and sending it South.

Now the idea of Republican control has vanished. A Democratic Congress is not as likely to send pork barrel dollars to a Republican state. (Bridge to Nowhere for example) There are any number of ways Democrats might find opposition to their efforts to support drilling in Alaska. Will Democrats have to push Palin to live up to her promise to drill drill drill. Probably.

Perhaps she will go back to her secessionist ideas, that would not be a surprise at all, under the circumstances. Country first, Republicans second, which in this case means the country of Alaska first, and America second.

Such an event would be cause for political warfare, which is a plank in the Republican platform. Palin might not have a long or enduring career in politics, (where is Dan Quayle, anyway?) but it should be interesting.

the buzz on the financial channels is that Bernanke is afraid to move, (Gross wants Fannie and Freddie cleaned up pronto or he won't buy any more government debt) without a clear indication of where his political anchor was moored. Paulson will soon be gone, (unless McCain wins and reappoints him) and Bernanke and the Fed are a rudderless ship without the government interlopers.

hmmm?

Is Gross putting in an application for the job. Personally I think he would be a terrific choice, someone who cares more about the bond market and rates, and the socalled rate guru's Greenspan and his clones.

But a little bird tells me its sell the rumor and buy the news. When the Republicans throw in the towel, the market will dive, a bit, and then buy it. At that point all doubt is removed, and Wall Street hates doubt, and while they say they don't care much for Democrats, take a brief look at Mr Market under Clinton, and under Bush. Whoops.

The new, or service economy apparently isn't picking up the slack. One of the stalwarts of the service industry is the restaurant business. Restaurants are sometimes considered recessionproof. (The banks closed in 1930, but the diners stayed open) The national chains have overbuilt, competing for a declining number of consumer dollars. Profit margins are sufficent to keep them going a while longer. If you wonder why headline inflation hasn't shown up as core inflation, that's how the process works. Food producers, suppliers, and restuarants, are living off profit margins, which is as it should be. When a few of these chains start closing outlets, and reducing expansion, things will change, and quickly. High enders like PF Changs seems like good sells to me. The typical high end customer pads their bill with alcoholic beverages, which have huge markups. The first thing diners cut back on is drinks and tips. Places like McDonalds seem well placed, with an overseas footprint, beware of a resurgent dollar, and of course if those overseas outlets start closing, the support staff based here will get layoff notices. When the service economy implodes we have a recession or worse.