[sailaway21]

I think that the desire of many non-conservatives for more of the kinder and gentler conservatism that got the Republican party to this point is unlikely to rejuvenate it. Despite the calls for tossing the Christian Right out from the temple and a re-examination of traditional Republican spending on defense, leaving only fiscal conservatism left in the tent, all indications are that this form of conservatism is largely responsible for the crash and burn of the Republican party. After all, even Democrats claim to be fiscally conservative. The best example of this might be the current governor of the state of California. Hey, he did have the actor thing going for him; that worked out pretty well last time in California. It turns out that moderation in principles is nothing more than a sign of weakness within the Golden State and the current occupant of the governor's mansion looks a lot more like his predecessor than any resemblance to Mr. Reagan.

The state of California is in serious trouble, not the least because business is in full flight for the border, and the really bad news is that the Fed's are going to bail them out. All that largesse will do is kick the world's ninth largest economy's problems down the road. Prediction? Somewhere around 2011, California declares intractable insolvency. It's going to be uglier by far than what today already is.