Leaving aside the pollution and the politics, the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, from the more than 2000 drummers that started the show, to gymnastic gold medalist Li Ning soaring around the top of the stadium before lighting the torch, were nothing short of spectacular. Simply unbelievable pagentry.

And throughout the coverage, the advertisements were positive and upbeat, and often playing on the theme of the Olympics, "One World, One Dream." And then, on a break during the Parade of Nations, there was John McCain introducing himself to a huge, non-political audience by running an attack ad on Barack Obama. Proving once again that he is willing to do or say anything to win, McCain chose to inject politics into the Olympics with a negative ad. Unfortunately for McCain, the unspoken and unintended message was:

Vote for the old mean nasty guy you thought you admired eight years ago. I'm John McCain and I approved this message.

Let the games...continue.