Baracketology

In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, Florida and Ohio. In 2008, Obama won all five states, coasting to a 365 to 173 electoral victory over John McCain.

As multiple media sources have noted, Obama has spent some time in these states since entering office. In fact, the president has visited eight states that went red in 2004 and blue in 2008 since late January. This should come as no surprise. After all, paraphrasing Dick Cheney, the primary goal of every first term administration is winning a second term. Is it therefore surprising that Obama's recently released NCAA bracket seems to reflect the political status quo?

Taking a closer look, Obama's upset picks are notable. For example, he is opting for Indiana's Butler over LSU in the first round. Not a huge shocker there, as that game could go either way. More suspiciously, Barack's bracket has #11 Temple over the Sun Devils, who are a six seed. Similarly, Barack is favoring Richmond's VCU over UCLA, who made it to the Final Four each of the last three seasons. In a swing state showdown, the President also has Florida St. ahead of Xavier; granted, Florida's 27 electoral votes compare favorably vs. Ohio's 20.

Most suspicious of all, at least in my mind, is that the President has #2 Duke (overrated) going far into the tourney and the #1 seed Tar Heels winning it all. Granted, these are solid teams and storied organizations. Still, Obama is likely sitting pretty with basketball fans in North Carolina, a state he won by about one percentage point in 2008. Conversely, he is likely not making any friends in the Pac-10. Not that that's a problem. Dems already own the West Coast.