Politics of Superstitions: Phillies for Obama, Lakers for McCain

Nov. 2, 2008 — -- With only two days until Americans select their next president, many are going by the polls to predict the election's outcome.

But if you're superstitious, maybe analyzing the candidates' heights or the results of the next Washington Redskins game could suggest whether Barack Obama or John McCain will be the next commander in chief.

Through the years, some 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.

However, Obama's game is basketball -- and there, the superstition indicator is not as promising for him. In eight of the nine seasons the Los Angeles Lakers, or the Minneapolis Lakers before them, have been in the finals in a presidential election year, a Republican has won the White House.

This predictor has been even more accurate when the Lakers won -- with a 5-for-5 correlation to Republican White House victories. This year, however, the Lakers lost, so maybe Obama has a chance -- as in 1964, when the Lakers lost and Democrat Lyndon Johnson defeated Republican Barry Goldwater.