Odds

As I was reading the sports pages at breakfast the other morning, I noticed something unusual. On the page which contained the “betting odds” for the week’s sporting events, there was a list of odds for the 2012 presidential nominations. The list was divided in two columns: one for the Democrats and one for the Republicans.

What struck me, beside the fact that these odds were being published, was that the 2008 presidential winner hadn’t even been sworn in yet. And the odds themselves were a little strange. For example, the Republican favorite was Mitt Romney, at 5 to 1. This is understandable, even though we haven’t heard from him since he dropped out of the 2008 race. But next in line was Sarah Palin at 6 to 1. How anyone in their right mind could envision this woman at the top of the 2012 presidential ticket, let alone as the number two favorite, escapes me. I’d sooner vote for Tina Fey.

Naturally, the Democratic front runner was Barak Obama, who would be the incumbent. No surprise there. But down the list, at only 100 to 1, was Caroline Kennedy! Based on hearing her speak as she seeks the soon to be vacated junior senate seat in New York, I can’t imagine why these odds shouldn’t be more like 1,000,000 to 1. Her father may have evoked visions of Camelot, but after hearing her speak, I’m reminded more of Spamalot.

On another page of the newspaper, I learned that on Inauguration Day, the vice president is sworn in first. I never realized that. Seems like putting the cart before the horse to me. The only advantage I see with that process is that it gets Cheney out of the picture that much sooner.