Edward Tufte to the Rescue of the Stimulus!

http://gawker.com/5490075/obama-hires-internets-favorite-pretty-chart-guy

Oh, it's true. This news couldn't be any better -- well maybe if they also hired Hans Rosling.

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

Hans Rosling is also a sword-swallower, so this "beautiful data" field is pretty competitive...

Hey! Tufte - Rosling celebrity death-match!