This is Why They Don't Vote in U.S. Elections

That's what I originally titled this post after reading this BBC online poll that 15,000 people answered worldwide. They chose a team of 11 to run the world "from a list of around 100 of the most powerful leaders, thinkers and other high-profile people on the planet."

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new world government:

1 - Nelson Mandela ("if there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.")
2 - Bill Clinton
3 - Dalai Lama
4 - Noam Chomsky (“When you come back from the Third World to the West—the U.S. in particular—you are struck by the narrowing of thought and understanding, the limited nature of legitimate discussion, the separation of people from each other.”)
5 - Alan Greenspan
6 - Bill Gates
7 - Steve Jobs
8 - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
9 - Richard Branson
10 - George Soros
11 - Kofi Annan

Yeesh. At least when one nation elects a wretched and tyrannical government, you can move next door. But this is a world government. Mars, anyone?

But the title I originally chose won't work, because according to the BBC, "more than half of votes came from users in the United States."

Bush finished in 43rd place, below Castro (36th), Hugo Chavez (33rd) and Michael Moore (15th). He did however, finish ahead of Osama Bin Laden, who nonetheless got enough votes to finish in 70th place.

[Hat tip, Tigerhawk]