Suspicions confirmed

A report in the Sept. 1, 2004, edition of the Washington Spectator confirms what many liberals have long suspected.

The report mentions a little-known 2002 study, "The U.S. and the Wealth of Nations," in which authors Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen conclude that the average intelligence level of a country determines its economic strength in the long run.

It shows that citizens of China, Japan and Korea have higher average IQ numbers than do Americans.

Even more telling, perhaps, in terms of recent and 2004 presidential and congressional races are the figures on U.S. states. Note that 100 is the international average IQ.

The top seven states in terms of average IQ in the 2002 study were Connecticut (113), Massachusetts and New Jersey (111), New York (109). Rhode Island (107), Hawaii (106) and Maryland (105). In all of those states, Al Gore beat George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

On the other end of the spectrum, the states with the lowest average IQs were Mississippi (85), Utah and Idaho (87), South Carolina and Wyoming (89), South Dakota and Oklahoma (90). All of those states went for Bush in 2000.