Seeing the Truth

On Friday, in discussing the allegedly BBC-generated anti-Bush “hysteria” in England, Andrew Sullivan expressed confidence in British levelheadedness:

But my native country isn’t renowned for its common sense for nothing. I have faith that the majority will eventually see through the propaganda to the truth.

I wonder if this is what he meant (per Drudge):

The full extent of the low regard Britons have for George Bush was tonight revealed in a poll.
The US President was branded a threat to world peace by a clear majority, 60%, of those questioned by YouGov.
More than one in three, 37%, said Mr Bush was “stupid” while 33% called him “incoherent”.
Only a minority saw positive characteristics in Mr Bush, with just 7% regarding him as a good world leader, 6% as articulate and 10% as intelligent.
. . .
There was little faith in the President’s ability to handle the continuing problems in Iraq.
Fewer than a quarter, 24%, had confidence in Mr Bush on Iraq, while 74% did not.

If only we could similarly see through the propaganda to the truth here in America.
One caveat on this poll: I’m not familiar with YouGov’s methodology. This was apparently an online survey, but it’s supposedly drawn from “a representative sample of 1,934 adults.” So consider that while assessing the findings.

A Democrat Wins!

I was beginning to wonder when we would see this again:

Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco made history Saturday night as the first woman ever elected governor in Louisiana.

What does this mean for 2004? Probably nothing. But it’s one bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for the Democratic party.

Faux Romance to the Highest Bidder

Do you want to spite an ex-girlfriend? Are you tired of the parental “are you seeing anyone yet?” Are you gay and want people to think otherwise? Then an eBay imaginary girlfriend may be the answer for you.
For the right price, you secure the right for a female to send you her picture and a series of weekly romantic letters, typically for one month. At the end of the alloted time, you “break up” with your “girlfriend” and go your separate ways.
When bidding for an imaginary girlfriend, the old adage caveat emptor applies, so read the auction descriptions carefully. You might be bidding on the “original imaginary girlfriend” or on one of many cheap knockoffs (though some look pretty good). You might even end up with a guy. Heaven knows, you certainly don’t want to end up with a low-grade fake girlfriend.
Happy bidding.

Generosity Index

Andrew Sullivan links to this table as evidence that states voting for George Bush are generous people.
As long as he was doing his statistical analysis, though, he could have also pointed out that a majority of those Bush states are in the bottom half of per capita income. Or, if he was really feeling frisky, he could have noted that on a per capita basis those so-called red states receive far more money in federal government expenditures than they pay in taxes (see the Tax Foundation report here). Does that mean they are welfare-loving people?
I guess those pesky kinds of statistics don’t fit in on message so well.