I scooped the Big Media by almost a week-- I pointed out that the EU tariffs were targeting states that were marginal for Bush last Tuesday. Today Andrew Sullivan spots the story in the Guardian and it's actually news to him. Hey, you saw it here first. My story says that the DNC gave them the data. Where I supposedly missed was some the states now being mentioned (totally stupid, but it's the Guardian and Sullivan so what do you expect?), as well as the facts that now they WILL target cotton, a product in such short supply right now that cotton prices are at the moon and cotton farmers have already sold their crops forward for cash; meaning Sullivan and the Guardian are assholes, as usual. Topping that, the biggest cotton producing states are safe for Bush; Texas and Mississippi, while the other one, California, is safe for Democrats. Here's the Guardian breakdown of total fiction:

Florida and its citrus products. The state was the scene of the "hanging chad" saga in the 2000 presidential election, after Mr Bush and Al Gore virtually tied there (GOP currently up by 20% in polls and California, the other big citrus state, too Democratic to count);
· Wisconsin and its apples and paper. (I think all foreigners are morons. Do they know how much paper weighs? Wisconsin is shipping paper to Europe is like sending lead by FedX. Maybe they mean tissue paper) Mr Gore won this state by a tiny margin; (the Brits seem not to notice Washington, the biggest apple producer of all and how do you block apples from one state and not all states??)
· Tennessee and its chemicals. Mr Bush scored a narrow victory in Mr Gore's home state; Total and complete stupidity. Texas and Louisiana currently produce about 70% of all primary petrochemicals in the U.S. Bravo Guardian, the New York Times of the EU.
· Iowa and its agricultural equipment. This state will play a key role when the nominations battle starts in January. Iowa is not even LISTED in the government stats as being in the top producers of Farm Equipment, with Kansas and Wisconsin far and away the largest, and California having the most plants.

A trade embargo on agricultural products doesn't work because all commodities trade on the world market. You buy orange juice on the world market, if Brazil is short they will fill the order with U.S. juice. Same with every commodity. When you boycott a manufactured product like steel or tractors then it works. The boycott on chemicals might work, only the states hurt are on the Gulf Coast. At any rate I guess guys like Sullivan only believe it when they see it in jolly old Empire News.