Yeah, The Economist endorsed Obama. They're sane; what else could they do?
But it's their readers' endorsement that really speaks volumes.
It's true that people who read The Economist are a bunch of effete intellectual elitists. You think Sarah Palin has ever cracked its socialist covers? Not likely, toots.
But still. They are probably the best-informed, most knowledgeable, most carefully-considered group of people in the world. So maybe their opinion has some merit, even if they're mostly furriners.
But even in the U.S., Obama's at 81% to McCain's 19.
And The Economist's electoral college (they assign electors to each country by population) gives the worldwide nod to Obama by a small margin. As of now:
Obama: 9,048
McCain: 314
There is one country in the world where McCain is stong (61%): Iraq.
Oh and he does have a smaller lead in four other landmarks of peace and prosperity: Myanmar, Algeria, Sudan, and Congo.
But you really shouldn't pay any attention to this. What do these people know?