Now that Groperzenegger has been reelected, Peter Bart discusses the obvious next step for the State of California (snippets):

...With the Gubernator firmly at the helm under Plan B, California will secede from the Union, declaring its sovereignty as the world's sixth-biggest economy. All this may sound like a return to the "nullification movement" of Civil War days, but consider the historical precedents. The Israelite tribes seceded from the Davidian kingdom after the death of Solomon in 933 B.C. and prospered. Venezuela has done pretty well having seceded from Colombia in 1830. Some of the Russian states have prospered having been liberated from the fast-sinking Soviet Union. Canada's clearly going to let Quebec go some day soon, and those folks don't even want to speak English. California is too vital and free-thinking to be dragged down by the U.S. any longer. As you well know, Governor, all Texans want to do is declare war on obscure countries, and we haven't won one of those in 60 years. The evangelicals own the South, and California isn't ready for their social agenda. The mandarins of New York and Boston have lost their political muscle -- all they can bring to us is more Clintons and John Kerry. A liberated California would be an instant global force, Governor, and would provide you with a messianic platform. Trade would soar, incomes would rise and the government could lavish its resources on infrastructure and education rather than foreign wars. Who needs Washington's pathetic "entitlements" when we could create our own? ....A sovereign California would be liberated from a profligate, warrior national government whose interests are inconsistent with those of California. As you know better than anyone, Governor, all California wants is to be rich and flakey. In what other part of the world could a Hollywood, a Burlingame and a Cucamonga peacefully co-exist? So here's the deal, Governor: First, you rally state voters (you know how to make that work for you). Then you petition Congress, reminding those lazy bozos of Daniel Webster's argument in 1830 that the Constitution is merely a treaty among the many states, not some celestial doctrine that can never be modified. With this in mind, consider your inauguration in proper context, Governor. This isn't merely the beginning of a second term. It's the start of Plan B -- the birth of a new nation-state and a new career....

I might be willing to accept the trade-off between having the Terminal Groper as leader and the U.S. as an adjacent nation.