By The River

We find ourselves at an odd juncture where economics have overtaken politics, where the collapse of Wall Street titans like Lehman Brothers has, at least for now, pushed McCain, Palin, Obama, and Biden out of the main headlines of the day.

That will change this Friday, of course, when the first of the Presidential Debates is held. But for now, Wall Street has our attention. No one has jumped out of a building, other than figuratively, but the collapse and the $700 billion no-strings bail-out proposed by the Bush Administration has changed, perhaps permanently, the tenor of the campaign. The only real questions being asked anymore are whether the candidates support the bail-out or support it with modifications.

Just as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, wiped out the obsessions of the summer of 2001, most notably the Chandra Levy case, Wall Street's woes have terminated our current obsessions over Sarah Palin's qualifications, or lack thereof, and the pressing question of whether Obama is really a radical Muslim anti-Christ. Yes, the anti-Christ. Toss that around while you're passing the rattlesnakes. I hope Palin, a rightwing religious zealot, is asked directly at the Vice Presidential Debate whether she believes this garbage.

And there I go, obsessing about Palin when George W. Bush wants to hand $700 billion to Wall Street to repair the woes the Republicans created with their "government bad, deregulation good" schemes over the past eight or so years.