I think the best reaction to all of the Joe The Plumber references came from my 11 year old son. After being allowed to stay up late, in order to watch the debate, said on his way to bed, "Isn't John McCain 72 years old?"

I replied, "Actually I think he's 71 right now. He'll be 72 when he's sworn in as president if he wins."

He looked at me for a second and said, "Oh, well, I still think he's too old to have an imaginary friend named Joe the Plumber."

From the mouths of babes.

I think the whole Joe the Plumber angle of the debate was best summed up by my 11 year old son who made the observation, that at 72, John McCain was a little old for imaginary friends.

A funny thing happened when I was watching the debate last night, I experienced a case of deja vu. It occurred at the moment McCain started talking about his mortgage buyout plan. You know, the one where he thinks we should buy the bad mortgages from the banks, then negotiate with the mortgage holders for lower payments so the could stay in their homes. I had read the same proposal in a copy of an email on a link from Senator Sanders news letter earlier in the day. It's a copy of an email I wrote on the Monday after Paulson announced his bailout plan.

In the email, which was against the bailout, and I'm still not convinced it's a good plan, I suggested we treat the banks like a venture capitalist would. Offer pennies on the dollar to buy back these bad loans, no full price buyouts, the banks gambled and lost. Then offer the home owners in default a "fixed rate" mortgage with payments the could afford.

Now I'm not saying that I'm the only person who thought of this, but I am pointing out that as a plan it's been around, and has made the rounds for over two weeks. It's not new and McCain certainly didn't come up with it on his own.

As a life long Mets fan, one who can remember Willie Mays tripping while trying to steal second during the '73 series for instance, I'm not surprised.

What surprised me this year is that they stayed competitive, and in first as long as they did. That's not easy to do with no bullpen, and a bunch of aging stars. So I guess you can color me realistic, even if they had made the playoffs they'd probably be eliminated straight away.

Admittedly, I'm routing this year for an all Chicago series. It's been refreshing to hear about the possibility of an "El Series" instead of a "Subway Series".

The win at all cost attitude displayed here is why I've lost interest in the Olympics, and sports in general. The complete lack of perspective just turns me off completely. Shockingly enough, whether you win or lose, the world still goes on.

I can honestly say that not only did I hear of most of the beers listed here in the Northeast/New England section, my dad at one time or another featured them in refrigerator at our family camp. The one omission that seems to be the most glaring is Piels Real Draft. Like most of the "great" (used ironically) beers listed here it tasted best ice cold. Mostly because that way it had no discernible taste.

Also, Genny Cream Ale was better known as Genny Screamers in the capital district of New York back in the 70s when I was going to high school and it was the best beer we could afford on any given Friday night.

Drink one, you're ok. Drink two, still ok. Drink three, and have your friends regret having you in the car for the rest of the night.

That's all I can think to say about the groups mentioned in this article, dissimilar in every way except they all used, or tinkered with, bouncy orchestration on occasion.

What separates them is degrees of talent, timing and luck, The Raspberries had the least talent, but Eric Carmen managed to come up with one of the greatest singles of all time," Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" that blows everything ABBA did out of the water. But one record, no matter how good, doesn't make for a long, and respected career.

Badfinger for all their talent, and they were far more talented that both the Raspberries and ABBA, have become the Poster Children for how to get screwed over by the music industry. By the mid-seventies their career was in shambles, leading to two members of the band committing suicide in 1975 and 1983. If you can find any of their records they're definitely worth picking up.

That leaves us with ABBA, not the most talented, (they're not Badfinger, and definitely not The Beatles) but talented, but more importantly they were lucky. They always seemed to have the right song at the right time, particularly in Europe, where they were much more popular than in the U.S. However I think the biggest reason for their longevity,when it comes right down to it, is the songs are nothing more than ear candy. And ear candy can be addictive, full of hooks to pull you in and lyrics that are easy to sing along with, while not challenging you in anyway. I've never heard of anyone becoming introspective while listening to ABBA. The same can't be said about Badfinger, just listen to "Carry On Till Tomorrow " from Magic Christian Music. Come to think of it just listen to the whole album.