I am indeed sorry, but I worked in the financial services industry for years and smart people were looking at Madoff's number's with skepticism and speaking to their financial advisors. Goldman Sachs would not touch Madoff because his numbers did not add up. If you worked all your life to have a secure retirement, you owe it to yourself to behalf prudently and keep part of that nest egg somewhere where it is safe. Caveat emptor. I am sorry though. Magic is for little children.

Long before these ladies made it on to the stage, PBS was showcasing Judi Woodruff, Gwen Ifill, and Margaret Warner. Judi in particular was on CNN for years with Bernie Shaw on "Inside Politics." She is presently hosting the nightly News Hour campaign coverage. It may not have the razzle dazzle of the three shows highlighted in the article, but it has the usual substance associated with PBS. How come we're not hearing about them?

I have been hearing this stuff, usually from David Brooks, throughout the campaign. The truth is McCain chose Sarah Palin without a moment's hesitation and practically no vetting. The Palin rallies have brought out some of the ugliest moments in recent political history. After telling America during the last debate that Obama, not he, was responsible for running negative ads, the RNC is out with robocalls saying that Ayers is a terrorist and a close friend of Obama's. McCain has pulled one campaign stunt after another. His greatness has been very much missing this election cycle. The Washington Post in endorsing Obama cited the absence of McCain's greatness during this election cycle. Much too ready to give in to stunts and ready to repeat the usual GOP playbook, the John McCain of 2008 is one of the real disappointments of this year and diminishes some of his real accomplisments. Time moves on, however. The New York Times has a comparison of the science and techonology proposals of the two candidates. It is clear that Obama is a candidate for the twenty-first century. McCain is too tethered to the small budget, small government proposals of the twentieth-century GOP. Is John McCain a great man, as Brooks insists? Without a doubt he has been, but he is not the right man for this time.

Beckett and Lowell are hurt. Big Papi hasn't recovered his swing. But you can't forget they traded away one of the great hitters in the modern era who has rewarded them by elevating his game for LA and putting on a bravura performance for the not so great Dodgers. When they traded away Manny the Globe blogs were full of gratitude to management for getting rid of him. Varitek spoke for the team when he said that Manny was no longer a welcome presence. The manager was actually relieved. These people are fools.

Who appreciates strong, accomplished women, and in fact married one of them. After one of the slimiest days of this campaign full of the most trivializing ads and stupid speeches in recent campaign history, I find this refreshing. Lehman Brothers went on the block today, and at a panel on Charlie Rose, following Paulson's bailout of Freddie and Fannie, the guests, noted economists and financial experts, said, expect more bad news. I can't believe that it was Chris Matthews who actually stopped his show to ask the American people to take a breadth and think about what was really at stake in this election. Even Mark Halperin who seems to thrive on easy access to all the pols in Washington admitted on CNN last night, that this campaign had taken journalism to a new low. When you start viewing politics like American Idol, you get a day like today full of cheap ads. What is also cheap is the campaign Americans are getting, devoid of issues, devoid of choices.

I have tried to read everything there is to read in the main stream press about Gov. Palin. Obviously, I missed a lot because I was so surprised when Sen. McCain picked her. But one thing that I take away from my rushed research is that Alaska mores are very different than those of the lower 48. I don't doubt the statement of the Palin family both about the baby with Down syndrone or her pregnant daughter. These are not judgmental or I might add the kind of people who really think through the long term consequences of things. One of the things I've learned about Gov. Palin is she thinks out loud, about censoring books,and shoots from the hip, which is why McCain might like her. On the other hand, while these qualities may work well bashing Obama in a speech written by a McCain speech writer, how well will they work in his first interview with the national press corps on Meet the Press? Only time will tell.

CNN just took Minn out of the leaning to solid blue, and it happened during the GOP convention. Good work delegates.

Someone on Pollster.com talking about the demographics of this pick, said, "well it certainly targeted the trailer trash vote." Confirmed by the New York Post What were the McCain folks thinking, or were they thinking

in Iraq, then I guess you also believe you have the moral high ground. If on the other hand, if you believe as I and most Demcorats supporting Barack Obama believe that the invasion of Iraq was a strategic blunder leaving us without any moral standing in the world, this is ludicrous. We're going to hear a lot about patriotism, and no surrender without victory during the RNC convention next week, but this visit, and its comedic effect tells more us than the jingoism coming out of Minneapolis about how the stature of the US has fallen in the last seven years. I hope Joe Biden and Bill Clinton underscore this tonight in his speech at the convention. Lieberman and Lindsay Gramham, clearly it won't be four more years. It will be worse.