A peace deal can now be forged between red and blue America: New Yorkers have finally caved and are admitting they want a Wal-Mart. High-minded ideals just can't compete with low, low prices.

That's right: 71 percent of people who live in New York City would like to be able to shop at a neighborhood Wal-Mart, the superstore that has long symbolized--particularly for yuppies--union busting, the crushing of local business, anti-environmentalism, bad fashion, and false consciousness. Just 24 percent are opposed to allowing the store to be built in the city limits, New York's Chris Rovzar notes. Poor and working-class minorities are the groups most excited to see a megamarket built.

One small hitch in the good news for Wal-Mart, Rovzar observes, is that the man who conducted the poll himself is most definitely in favor of having a Wal-Mart here. "'It's almost a no-brainer,' said [pollster Douglas] Schoen, a consultant who has conducted surveys ... 'This is a deal that benefits everyone--and poor and working-class people benefit the most. It's a rational act.'" Responds Rovzar: "You know what else is a no-brainer? Wal-Mart getting someone with that opinion to do their polling."

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Elspeth Reeve