The Palin Rebound  —  There are some moments when members of a political movement come together as one, sharing the same thoughts, feeling the same emotions, breathing the same shallow breaths.  One of those occasions occurred Thursday night when Republicans around the country crouched nervously behind …

How Government Stoked the Mania  —  Housing prices would never have risen so high without multiple Washington mistakes.  —  Many believe that wild greed and market failure led us into this sorry mess.  According to that narrative, investors in search of higher yields bought novel securities …

Schwarzenegger to U.S.: State may need $7-billion loan  —  In a letter obtained by The Times, the governor warns that tight credit has dried up funds California routinely relies on and it may have to seek emergency aid within weeks.  —  SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger …

You can find anything you want — except Katie's Restaurant  —  One of the more tiresome habits politicians have is to inject personal anecdotes into answers on economic questions as a way of avoiding discussion of real data.  Both sides do it, although usually this happens when one side wants …

Agency's '04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk  —  “We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment.”  — Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, March 11, 2008.  —  As rumors swirled that Bear Stearns faced imminent collapse …

VIDEO: Watch Sarah Palin Read Her Answers In Last Night's Debate  —  For Sarah Palin, last night's debate was an open-book exam.  She spent much of the evening methodically reading and rehearsing answers from “carefully scripted talking points.”  Palin's notes were largely hidden from plain view …

House Debates Bailout Package  —  WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives was expected to vote shortly after noon on Friday on the $700 billion economic bailout package, a measure that one Democratic leader called an effort to head off a crisis that could spread around the world.

Who Won VP Debate: A Review of Polls  —  Random and non-random polls for the vice presidential debate declare Biden the winner over Palin in the vice-presidential debate.  —  Non-random (unscientific) polls on AOL and MSNBC web sites show Biden winning 48 to 45 and 78.6 to 18.9 respectively.

House Readies for Its Second Bailout Vote  —  The fate of an emergency economic rescue plan was uncertain this morning as the House prepared for a climactic midday vote, but both Democratic and Republican leaders said they are optimistic that they can marshal more support for the $700 billion bailout than they did last Monday.

Jobs Report Underlines Economic Decline  —  The government is out with more bad economic news this morning: The job market began to deteriorate even before the financial crisis reached a more serious stage two weeks ago.  —  Employers cut 159,000 jobs in September, more than twice …

Projecting through the Screen  —  A very wise TV executive once told me that the key to TV is projecting through the screen.  It's one of the keys to the success of, say, a Bill O'Reilly, who comes through the screen and grabs you by the throat.  Palin too projects through the screen like crazy.