Politics of Superstitions: Phillies for Obama, Lakers for McCain
ABC News: As Americans are going by the polls today, some pundits are analyzing the candidates’ heights or the results of the next Washington Redskins game to suggest whether Barack Obama or John McCain will be the next commander in chief. Through the years, these pundits have seen correlations between such things and presidential winners.
For example, if you’re taking cues from history to determine the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., then turn to the World Series. In the past, some see a pattern that when a National League team won, so did the Democratic candidate. This may explain why Obama was rooting for the now-world champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Actually, the pattern of an American League World Series champ hinting at a Republican winner and a National League champ signaling a Democrat has held true just 60 percent of the time since 1908, the first time the World Series fell on a presidential election year. But American League winners — the Yankees and Red Sox — have matched the last two election wins for Bush, a former Major League baseball owner and a big-time fan.
