That outcome was a triumph for Cameron though, because he had been predicted to fall well short.
Child poverty figures released last week showed that the number of children living in relative poverty was unchanged at 2.3 million – a statistic heralded as a triumph by the government, since the number had been widely predicted to increase.
It caused no discernible damage to our 'real enemies' China and Russia, and our defeat did not lead to the predicted triumph of Communism in the 'domino' nations.
And as Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined toasts to her success, PR experts predicted her triumph would translate into lucrative sponsorship deals.
Recalling that in Wisconsin the paper's softball team lost most of its games last year (including to a team called the Hairballs from a local halfway house), Mr. Siegel nevertheless predicted a triumph over a squad of "pointy head intellectuals".
He predicted the triumph of democracy in this Communist country.
In 1907 The Economist predicted "the triumph of the horse".
Sixty years ago, few would have predicted the triumph of these values in Germany and Japan.
Back in June, crammed with this correspondent into a tiny Suzuki car in east Delhi, he predicted electoral triumph for his Aam Aadmi ("common man") anti-graft volunteers.
(Actually, given that we've now predicted its triumph here, a bet may not be such a bad idea - the Vulture has an as yet unblemished record of getting every such prediction 100% wrong).
