he effects of China's weather crisis on its economy worsened yesterday as the devastation of winter crops added to pressures on food prices. . . . Government figures said that snow had destroyed crops on 3,000 square miles of land. Wholesalers in Beijing reported that supplies of some foodstuffs were down to a fifth of normal levels. In areas directly affected by the snow, such as the central industrial cities of Wuhan and Changsha, food prices have reportedly already doubled.

John McCain rarely lets lack of information and expertise stand in his way. Iraq, of course, is a notable exception.

But what about McCain's other positions? He opposes drilling in ANWR because, in his words, the area is "pristine" (which in this case means barren) and he "wouldn't drill in the Grand Canyon." Has any candidate ever presented a less serious analysis of an important policy question?

He opposes waterboarding in part because "torture doesn't work." Maybe the things the North Vietnamese did to him at the Hanoi Hilton didn't work, but we know from eye-witness accounts that waterboarding worked. When asked about this, McCain essentially accused the CIA of lying.

McCain's tendency to make snap judgments based on prejudice rather than information, and his hostility to information that doesn't conform to his prejudices, is perhaps the most frightening aspect of candidacy.