Mugabe '08!

[S]ome surveys require no analysis whatsoever. A good example emerged earlier today from the American Research Group, which asked Americans a number of questions on an issue that has been dominating headlines of late. One of them — “Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse? — was answered thusly:

No Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 13% say it is staying the same, and 82% say the national economy is getting worse.

In other words, zilch, zero, nothing (apart from the 5 percent who remain undecided). Not one glass half-full among the 1,100 people surveyed. The ruling was unanimous, and also obvious — economic news is routinely bad these days...

It was also slightly more agreement than Zimbabweans could muster when asked about their own economy, which failed long ago. In August, a Gallup poll showed the country’s bleak views on the economy, but 1 percent of 1,000 polled somehow held the view that things were getting better.