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May 10, 2003

The Bad News Blair

If you believed this article, you'd think women like Vicky were few and far between:

LONDON, England (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has been voted the most unpopular person in Britain -- followed by a topless model and the nation's first female premier Margaret Thatcher.

The vote, conducted by Channel 4 television and aired Saturday, saw the prime minister top the list of the "100 Worst Britons."

Wow, doesn't look good for our pal Tony does it? I wonder what strict methodology was followed to ensure that a statistically valid sampling was conducted. You know, surely CNN wouldn't report fluff as fact, would they?

Some 100,000 people voted on the channel's web site, choosing from a suggested shortlist of living Britons or submitting their own choices.

So, a self-selected sample of respondents answer a web survey and CNN carries the result, in their "World" section, with the headline "Blair Tops Most Unpopular List."

What next? Reporting on People's Sexiest Man Alive as if it's hard news?

In fact, it looks as if Blair's handling of the war has actually increased his approval ratings in the UK. But that wouldn't sell.