Presidential elections should be about substance, not sideshows. Yet some people can't stop wagging their tongues about the sad story of an unmarried teenage girl in Alaska who is about to become a mother. And that's only because the girl's own mother is Sarah Palin, the state's Republican governor and John McCain's vice presidential pick.

Reports that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is exploring how to keep the state functioning until winter even without passage of a 2008-09 budget may make the impasse seem as entrenched as ever. The same holds for the vast differences between Democrats' proposed budget and the Republican plan unveiled over the weekend.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's one-time mentor – former Gov. Pete Wilson – made waves this week at the Republican convention. Wilson told California GOP delegates that Schwarzenegger's push for a higher sales tax was a rotten idea.

Never mind the naysayers and inside-the-Beltway snobs who mock John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. This was a brilliant choice. Sure, it's a risk. But as Palin's defenders point out, no less a risk than asking the country to take a chance at the top of the ticket on a first-term senator from Illinois who doesn't have much to show in legislative accomplishments or foreign policy expertise.