The other night after facing criticism from Sarah Palin over a perception of Washington as “out-of-touch” with the middle class, a group Palin claims to firmly represent, Joe Biden struck back by naming off his own middle class creds, one of which was an invitation to join him at hometown Katie’s restaurant where he assured us we would find hometown values. That may well have been true, back the in 1980’s when Katie’s restaurant closed.

Lucky for Joe though if we do ask the people in Katie’s restaurant “have you been better off in the last eight years” as Joe suggests, we probably will get the same answer. Only they may well have largely been talking about the Carter administration.