1.   By losing three of four, the Mets dulled the luster of what had been a successful past month.

2.   For them, not even the many disappointments that came later were enough to dull the luster of that single achievement.

3.   Inevitably, perhaps, the political wars have dulled that luster.

4.   Or has its luster been dulled by increased media hype and the professional football flops many recent winners have done?

5.   Scandals and other reported weirdness have also dulled the luster of those achievements.

6.   Routine dulls the luster of the stones under your feet, turns the music of the Aztec doves in your back yard to an irritating squabble.

7.   The spat over language dulled the luster of what many national Hispanic political leaders had hailed as a landmark event.

8.   Yet none of that can dull the luster of this remarkable summer.