Energy: With the economy slowing, gasoline is lower at the pump and many are relieved. But the U.S. is still as dependent as ever on imported oil, and remains vulnerable to disruption. This is no time to get complacent.

It remains an issue, though, and the Democratic side of the ticket talks of coal as "dirty energy" and calls for bankrupting the industry or shipping it to China. Easy to say when energy is cheap and abundant. But what hasn't disappeared is America's continuing dependence on imported oil.

But imports are still rising and in light of the instability of these suppliers, there ought to be a renewed focus on developing more domestic resources. Energy self-sufficiency is the best antidote to petrotyrannies and all the damage they do, not just to their buyers but themselves.

The issue is just as important as it was this summer. We shouldn't let the chimera of lower energy prices fool us into thinking the problem is over.