For the liberal press, has it really come to this? Jonathan Alter's searching desperately for a parallel to the presidential election in the Red Sox coming from behind to beat the Yankees.

But wait. How about this one? St. Louis (located in swing state Missouri, trending Bush's way) was ahead 2-0, then Houston got some temporary momentum (during the debates, no less!) and pulled ahead 3-2. But then St. Louis came back (after Kerry's Mary Cheney gaffe in the last debate) and finished it off. Coincidence??? You decide . . . . (cue Twilight Zone music).

Talk about strained metaphors. Maybe Alter should just stick to seeing if his Alpha-Bits magically spell out W-I-S-H-F-U-L / T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G.