According to
this story, mid-level employees in the Bush Labor Dept. have been hard at work reading the tea leaves about prospects for their boss's reelection.
The Labor Department report, obtained by The Associated Press, includes an analysis of economic models that suggest Bush will beat Democrat John Kerry. Titled "In Focus: Predicting the Election Outcome," the memo says, "Nearly every single model has him winning."
As if they'd find otherwise. But give them credit for their methodology:
The models looked at an array of economic indicators, including gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation. The analysis also discusses a futures market that lets players bid on a probable election outcome. It also checked Web sites of oddsmakers in America and abroad.
Not surprisingly, the article makes no mention of actually considering voters or ballots.
The Kerry campaign condemned the memo as a waste of taxpayers' money and accused Bush of turning American government into his own taxpayer-funded political machine.