May I suggest a regular item for future campaign round ups: Since California's economy is in collapse, and we have a gubernatorial race in 2010, you could provide us with timely information of how any of the state's leaders are working to fix the world's eighth largest economy while posturing for the big race that is now less than 22 mos. away. -Kevo

Aww! Sarah Palin can't be the face of the Republican Party? Dang!
And believe me, I've told more than one conservative that we lefties love the idea of Palin representing the other party!

> Lower gas prices have apparently hit Alaska's state budget pretty hard.

Awwwwwww..... you mean those poor (record-shatteringly profitable) pitiable oil companies can't pay out as much in bonuses to every single person living in the state???

My heart bleeds.

My heart bleeds.

Yeah, it's always a bite in the ass when it's your socialism that goes out the window.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) announced that she is running for the Senate next year

Well that sucks. I'd bet she'd actually make a good Senator, but the Dems are going to need a Dem to hold the Secretary of State seat if we have any hope at all of getting some kind of sane redistricting in this state any time soon. These jerrymandered districts that have so many rural areas thrown in around the cities to dilute the impact of the city vote is just stupid - cities and rural folks have different interests and should be served by different representatives. If that means that the cities get more reps, that just means that the cities have more people and that's how a representative democracy is supposed to work.

Now the Dems are going to have to figure out who they're going to run for the SoS position as a not-incumbent, and the Republicans are going to see it as an incredibly important position to fight for. Depending on where Strickland's polling when election time rolls around, they may very well decide to run a harder race for the SoS seat than for the governor's.

Steve
Re Palin away from home...
Alaska is perhaps a bit unique in its loyalty towards political leaders. A friend of mine who is a president of a local college here in Portland has recently returned from Alaska and found, to his dismay, that this holds true even within the academic community up there. Ted Stevens and Palin remain well thought of to a degree which he found quite surprising though he added the caveat that many of the people he was dealing with were administrative, thus funding would be a primary concern for them. And Stevens delivered.

The AP reports today that Sarah Palin's national ambitions may have to be curtailed in light of Alaska's budget problems.

I said a few months ago that Palin was going to be faced with actually having to govern at some point. When gas prices are high Alaska's economy can go like gangbusters and she got to hand everybody in the state a check from her tax on oil company profits.

Now that gas prices are down, the state budget is going to collapse and she will actually have to sit down and work with the legislature (none of whom like her very much). Given her well document record of not being able to deal with the details of governing (she hired a city manager in Wasilla to actually handle the day to day operating of the town) and her fundemental stupidity she will fail spectacularly.

I predict that within six months Palin's appoval numbers in Alaska with drop below 50% and possibly below 40%.

That will pretty much kill any chance of her getting Murkoski's senate seat (there goes her national stage) and it should kill off her any reelection bid.

Of course such a failure won't hurt standing with the Republican faithful (look at Bush) but it will diminish if not crush her chances of getting the party nomination.

Just my hunch, but I would guess Sarah Palin cares about Sarah Palin and not Alaska or governing or a bad economy. I say she'll still be galavanting all about...providing there are cameras ready and waiting.

Alaska state Rep. Mike Doogan's recent newsletter says the word around Juneau is that it is likely the Permanent Fund Dividend this year will be zero due to huge losses in the stock market. If the PFD checks that go out in October are small compared to 2008's record dividend ($2069 plus a one-time energy rebate of $1200), Palin's poll numbers will plummet. Meanwhile, her constant flirting with the celebrity press is beginning to wear thin here.

My guess is that Palin will end up going the Huckabee route in 2012 when her first (and only) term as governor ends. She'll get her own show on FOX and spend a couple of years preaching to the choir before making a run for the Presidency in 2016. She won't make it past New Hampshire. The faithful will stick by her (assuming nobody else catches fire between now and then) but the money guys won't back her nore will the Congressional wing.

Oops, I meant Palin's first term ends in 2010 not 2012. Got confused with the next Presidential cycle.

Re: Paterson, his numbers are in the dumps because he's cutting spending in a recession. Go figure. Cuomo, I don't think, would be doing anything any differently at this point and hasn't really offered any kind alternate proposal. His popularity, relative to Paterson, is because he's not cutting spending right now.