CALIFORNIA AND RECALL suffer from Isabel envy. While the East coast’s hurricane follows a steady course, the big political storm out West remains stalled over the Golden State. It may reach land sometime today, when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to announce whether it will reconsider the recall delay it imposed earlier this week. After that, storm may veer east with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. So what do the major recall candidates have planned this week? Riding out the storm and preparing for Wednesday night’s debate in Sacramento, which will be something of a showdown moment–it’s the first debate to be graced by the presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Reporters can never resist having a debate over debates and Wednesday night’s affair, sponsored by the California Broadcasters Association, has struck a nerve with them. That’s because the event has broken within tradition by giving the candidates, a week in advance, a dozen debate questions that might get asked. It’s an idea first suggested by Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Weintraub, who borrowed it from Jay Rosen, a New York University journalism professor and press critic.