• May 25, 2012
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March 18, 2009

Obama’s Basketball Bracket Looks Presidential, Too

by Jim Newell  

This is just over the top. He even puts a Presidential Seal on it — wait till the election’s over, please? Anyway, to see the whole Presidential Bracket, check out this Washington Post article and READ THE COMMENTS. They are very concerned about the President promoting gambling with this popular American ritual:

What the hell was the person who released this to the press thinking? While I realize this is a widespread and generally harmless practice, I couldn’t help wincing when I heard about it. Harmless as it is, it is gambling – are we supposed to assume there isn’t a WH office pool behind it? – and the timing is just awful.
While I wouldn’t be surprised if other presidents did this, at least they had the sense not to release it to the press.

Posted by: beegrace123 | March 18, 2009 2:08 PM

Exactly. If the press released this, the public might be retarded about it on Internet comment boards.

[White House Photo/Pete Souza, WP]

{ 81 comments }

Don Diego Gallo del Pollo March 18, 2009 at 4:24 pm

Wow, his bracket even trumps Recovery.gov on the White House website. Expect a congressional hearing if his picks don’t make it to the Final Four.

masterdebater March 18, 2009 at 4:24 pm

I’m shocked, SHOCKED, to find there is gambling going on here!

rambone March 18, 2009 at 4:26 pm

How’s he gonna know who to pick without a teleprompter?

comradepaulson March 18, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Beegrace123′s gonna blow a gasket when he/she/it finds out about the Craps tables in the Lincoln bedroom.

shanemacgowan March 18, 2009 at 4:30 pm

“Exactly. If the press released this, the public might be retarded about it on Internet comment boards.”

I believe that is the reason Dick Vadar refused to release his VP Calendar and visitors’ logs.

nestor March 18, 2009 at 4:30 pm

What is that muslin’s problem with the PAC-10?

Noodle Salad March 18, 2009 at 4:31 pm

John McCain was caught filling out a bracket from the 1940 NAIA championship – and then ridiculed for picking the Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan over the Statesmen of Delta State.

Texan Bulldoggette March 18, 2009 at 4:31 pm

I read that Walnuts released his brackets too? When is Nicole Wallace of Steve Schmidt going to tell Walnuts that the election was over a few months ago and he, um… lost?

TGY March 18, 2009 at 4:31 pm

OMG, a human president! This is *hysterical*!

You just can’t help falling for Hopey every now and then. Especially when he trips you up as you’re dribbling past the center line.

Fivetree March 18, 2009 at 4:31 pm

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ! Doesn’t our dear leader get to have any FUN in his job? It’s not like he walked into a cushy situation here. The man has a lot on his plate, or to put it more exactly, he has a fucking table full of full plates. Let him have his POTUS bracket, beegrace123, and shove it where the sun don’t shine.

SayItWithWookies March 18, 2009 at 4:32 pm

Why is he just getting around to filling out his bracket now?! March madness has been on the schedule for months! Tim Geithner should be fired! Impeach!

GDTRFB March 18, 2009 at 4:32 pm

That’s not a pen he’s holding, it’s a blunt, and he’s passing it to the left hand side.

PerhapsSo March 18, 2009 at 4:32 pm

If it helps the crazy commentor’s frayed nerves, I always fill out a bracket and never put money on it, since I don’t have any money. I do, however, curse like a sailor when reality does not comport to my bracket.

mdotsota March 18, 2009 at 4:33 pm

That thing’s going to be hard to crumple up and toss in the garbage when it all goes to shit in the first weekend.

TGY March 18, 2009 at 4:34 pm

[re=268326]SayItWithWookies[/re]: Maybe he’s been a *little* busy.

TGY March 18, 2009 at 4:35 pm

Also, what would Lanny Davis’s son say about basketball brackets?

Tommy Says Soooo, Jugdish! March 18, 2009 at 4:35 pm

Why isn’t he a real man like Ross Douthat and watching women’s volleyball?

Mr. Herpes March 18, 2009 at 4:39 pm

That’s not a basketball pool. He’s making a list of the people in America who still have jobs.

magic titty March 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm

The Historically Black Colleges will dominate the proceedings, am I right, fellow Fishbowl DC commenterz??

ForTheTurnstiles March 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm

Examine his bracket carefully: he clearly wants to keep North Carolina in the blue column in 2012.

BigDupa March 18, 2009 at 4:41 pm

Maybe he could put some of the TARP money on 4-game parlay and help pay for a few more shovel ready programs… err.. jogging paths– dug, leveled and paved by illegals per Lou Dobbs.

He’s also ripping off that famous photo of JFK and RFK marking off all the chicks they banged in the Presidential steno pool.

ThomasAllen March 18, 2009 at 4:41 pm

The pool fee was $30 Billion of YOUR TAX DOLLARS!

NoWireHangers March 18, 2009 at 4:44 pm

That’s nothing. I shoot craps with my Obama Family dice set.

Dave J. March 18, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Who’s that helping him, HOSNI MUBARAK? Sure looks like it, and I for one am not surprised at all that he’d ask for a fellow Muslin dictator’s help with this task.

WadISay March 18, 2009 at 4:46 pm

[re=268325]Fivetree[/re]: Plus, he inherited a lot of these shitty picks from the previous administration.

Hooray For Anything March 18, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Yet further proof that Obama has put too many things on his plate. Shouldn’t he be working on solving the financial crisis, saving the economy, and ending two wars instead of putting together NCAA tourney brackets? He’s been President for 8 weeks people! Why hasn’t he fixed everything!

Lascauxcaveman March 18, 2009 at 4:46 pm

[re=268320]nestor[/re]: OMG! THe righty wingnuts are right! He’s hopelessly naive and in WAY over his head!

[re=268343]ForTheTurnstiles[/re]: Or that could be the explanation, since the Pac-10 teams are from mostly solid blue states.

Larry Fine March 18, 2009 at 4:51 pm

Tomorrow there will be a cartoon in the New York Post of a chimpanzee picking its favorites for the NCAA tournament.

you cannot be serious March 18, 2009 at 4:52 pm

Is it too cheesy to say that I am still totally in love with this man?

What a shocker that he would be following the basketball.

Lascauxcaveman March 18, 2009 at 4:53 pm

Heh, heh, heh. Temple over Arizona State? Yeah, RIGHT, Hopey.

PerhapsSo March 18, 2009 at 4:53 pm

[re=268353]Lascauxcaveman[/re]: He also had no love for Arizona. Was this retaliation for McCain?

imissopus March 18, 2009 at 4:54 pm

Muslins don’t play basketball, but they do have that awesome game where horseback riders drag a goat carcass back and forth along a dusty field. They also don’t gamble, so he is not endorsing anyone putting money on the Kabul Allahs over the Lahore Mecca in the final.

magic titty March 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm

Seriously, why are wingnuts fascinated with him using a teleprompter? Jesus H.

Jukesgrrl March 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm

Gambling is very patriotic as long as you don’t bet in Euros or Yen.

And Mr. President, please move your hand so I can see your pick for Pitt vs. Duke.

tunamelt March 18, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Hey, screw you, Mr. President. USC is totally going to beat Boston College.

tunamelt March 18, 2009 at 4:57 pm

But good work predicting ucla loses in the first round.

Judas Peckerwood March 18, 2009 at 4:57 pm

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!!! Aside from the usual gang of Republican pedophiles, I mean.

tunamelt March 18, 2009 at 4:59 pm

[re=268362]PerhapsSo[/re]: What does he have against the Pac-10? Only Washington seems to have survived into the next round, for him.

tunamelt March 18, 2009 at 5:00 pm

Liberal bias my ass.

assistant/atlas March 18, 2009 at 5:00 pm

[re=268343]ForTheTurnstiles[/re]: Let’s hope his picks were political because otherwise we’ve found an area where Hopey’s skills are lacking. Temple over ASU indeed. Oy.

Doglessliberal March 18, 2009 at 5:01 pm

[re=268359]you cannot be serious[/re]: I know, me, too. He keeps doing shit that slays you. The skipping-the-Gridiron-to-be-with-daughters-on-Spring-Break move knocked me over, too.

DangerousLiberal March 18, 2009 at 5:02 pm

The NCAA also posts a bracket, with a big warning about “don’t gamble with this.” So everyone chill. After all, the hypocrisy and double dealing done at NCAA HQ makes the White House look like a Unitarian church.

jagorev March 18, 2009 at 5:03 pm

[re=268366]Jukesgrrl[/re]: It’s Duke (look at the next round)

Doglessliberal March 18, 2009 at 5:03 pm

[re=268375]assistant/atlas[/re]: Hey, I picked Temple, to. You have to have an upset, you know? (And I have the Philly loyalty excuse, too.)

jagorev March 18, 2009 at 5:03 pm
jagorev March 18, 2009 at 5:04 pm

[re=268379]jagorev[/re]: I’m a retard, he picked Pitt

Joey Ratz March 18, 2009 at 5:06 pm

[re=268343]ForTheTurnstiles[/re]: If Barry had followed my example and picked Louisville to win the whole thing, perhaps Kentucky would have voted blue next time? What a wasted opportunity.

magic titty March 18, 2009 at 5:14 pm

[re=268381]Doglessliberal[/re]: I went to Temple, so I had to pick them.

lazyb March 18, 2009 at 5:17 pm

Does Mary Cary know about this latest degradation to the honor and prestige of the office? First Leno, now basketball? Get the smelling salts!

AxmxZ March 18, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Next we’ll learn that Barry still fleeces all his colleagues at poker on weekends.

Come here a minute March 18, 2009 at 5:21 pm

This guy is spreading himself too thin — he picked winners of sixty-three games. Trying to do too much to fast. Slow down pal.

51dimes March 18, 2009 at 5:22 pm

Obama’s white half is why he has Duke going that far. Really, its the only explanation.

Min March 18, 2009 at 5:24 pm

[re=268308]masterdebater[/re]: You can’t go wrong with a classic.

IceCreamEmpress March 18, 2009 at 5:25 pm

This is the most fucking awesome thing about the Obama presidency since the Reverend Mr. Lowery’s Inauguration shout-out to Big Bill Broonzy.

I am not even kidding about this. I LOVE MY LEFTHANDED BLACK MUSLIN PRESIDENT!

thefrontpage March 18, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Towson is going to win the entire thing! I’m telling you, Towson. Vote for Towson. Pick Towson. Look on your brackets for the hidden game that no one knows about–it’s Towson! And Towson is going to beat Washington, Louisville, Connecticut and then North Carolina, and Towson will be the national championship. And I’m in the White House NCAA Betting Pool–it’s run from a small office in the White House basement, and Luciano “Bugsy” Bidenetta is in charge of the temporary office. To enter the office, knock three times and say “Git R Done” to enter.

Jukesgrrl March 18, 2009 at 5:31 pm

[re=268362]PerhapsSo[/re]: Arizonans don’t have any love for Arizona ever since Lute Olsen married that PA Republican fundraiser and lost his job (and what was left of his mind). But at least he’s still earning money shilling for rightwing Christian radio stations.

nestor March 18, 2009 at 5:32 pm

[re=268362]PerhapsSo[/re]: That would explain not picking ASU which is in the “real” part of Arizona. But the U of A is in communist/immigrant loving, ACORN infected Tucson.

thatonegirlsays March 18, 2009 at 5:33 pm

HE HAS AN EAST COAST BIAS 1!!!1!

Formerly Fred March 18, 2009 at 5:35 pm

Alabama St. over Morehead St? He’s already been wrong on every game played so far. This doesn’t bode well for the economy.

nestor March 18, 2009 at 5:35 pm

[re=268435]Jukesgrrl[/re]: Russ Pennel will dick slap you.

(I always thought Wonkette should be more like Deadspin. Thanks Jim!)

rmontcal March 18, 2009 at 5:39 pm

[re=268316]comradepaulson[/re]: No way – he throws bones.

rmontcal March 18, 2009 at 5:42 pm

[re=268340]Mr. Herpes[/re]: FTW!

Fivetree March 18, 2009 at 5:47 pm

[re=268351]WadISay[/re]: All the good teams were probably renditioned. waterboarded, stripped of their 401(k)s and poisoned with greenhouse gasses.

And denied their rights to marry each other.

Also.

imarmcandy March 18, 2009 at 6:16 pm

[re=268385]Joey Ratz[/re]: Ha. No votes for picking Louisville, the mouthbreathers are all Big Blue fans and actively hate Louisville even though without Louisville, Kentucky would be West West Virginia.

Andy Bernard March 18, 2009 at 6:16 pm

Where is his love for the l33t? GO BIG RED! Go Ivy!

BTW, did you hear about the great new NYT columnist?

bitchincamaro March 18, 2009 at 6:34 pm

“Great. … (I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen headlines along the lines of “Obama puts together a slam dunk of a team,” referring to his cabinet).”

Posted by: aucegypt2009 | March 18, 2009 5:21 PM

I don’t recall an aucegypt2009 post when George Tenet was reported to have uttered the same term, before face-planting our troops into Irag.

PerhapsSo March 18, 2009 at 6:59 pm

[re=268444]nestor[/re]: Tucson still elects its fair shares of Republicans. If the hippies who live near Sedona had a college basketball team, maybe Hopey would have had them advancing to the next round.

Until then, bear down, Arizona. May the Hopester be wrong.

AnglRdr March 18, 2009 at 6:59 pm

Wait just a freakin’ minute here.

He’s a lefty. This cannot stand!

Syracuse will win, also.

Zadig March 18, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Hell yeah, Obama picked Memphis to head to Detroit. I knew I (along with basically the entire rest of the school) voted for him for a reason.

ellie March 18, 2009 at 8:07 pm

Betting on sports teams is a venerated American tradition! Why, every year I enter the college bowl pool and I hate football!

Mr Blifil March 18, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Looking forward to when he shows his Elite Eight.

wolf_at_my_door March 18, 2009 at 9:02 pm

the Prez filling out a bracket is the least of my worries. I like a guy that places a bet with a smile on his face and is still the smartest politician in the world.

Lascauxcaveman March 18, 2009 at 9:56 pm

[re=268643]Mr Blifil[/re]: You don’t think he’s PACin’ 10?

Lascauxcaveman March 18, 2009 at 9:58 pm

(There, I ‘ve set up the perfect opportunity for one of you Midwestern wags to make a comment about the Hopester’s “BIG 10.”)

Lascauxcaveman March 18, 2009 at 9:59 pm

On their wedding night, I hear Michelle took one look at the thing and exclaimed “ACC!”

OffTheRecord March 18, 2009 at 10:14 pm

UNC over Louisville? WTF Hopey? I know you took down Hillary and McCain and are leader of the free world and all, but seriously, you do not fuck with Rick Pitino.

TexasCowGirl March 18, 2009 at 10:21 pm

[re=268359]you cannot be serious[/re]: No I feel the same way.

monthlykos March 18, 2009 at 11:13 pm

This is clearly just a ron emailmanual ploy to convince the wingnuts that hopey really isamercun. It won’t work. They can tell he’s just faking it. Seriously, VCU over UCLA? C’mon ron, that’s a dead giveaway that he’s a muslin terrerist.

wickedlittledoll March 19, 2009 at 2:38 am
supremecourtjester March 19, 2009 at 9:06 am

During the clip Pres. Obama said not to bet money in office pools. I will abide by his suggestion– and I think it will carry the same weight as the suggestion in Pot Psychology on your sister blog Jezebel not to do drugs.

digibal235 March 19, 2009 at 11:51 am

He’s got Butler over LSU in the first round. Fuck that. I’m switching parties.

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