Hillary Clinton 2 - 3
Barack Obama 3 - 2
John Edwards 5 – 1
Al Gore 7 – 2
Bill Richardson 10 - 1
Joe Biden 15 - 1
Chris Dodd 60 - 1
Dennis Kucinich 60 - 1
John Kerry 50 – 1
How to interpret these odds? It's easy: the first number is the amount you win if you bet the second number and your candidate is victorious. So you'd win $2 for every $3 you bet on Hillary, $3 for every $2 you bet on Obama, $5 for every $1 you bet on Edwards, and so on.
Now, I'm a Dennis Kucinich supporter, and I will vote for him in Cali's primary on February 5. But for reasons I don't understand, most of my fellow Democrats are not down with Kucinich For President, even though many admit that he is the candidate whose views most closely reflect their own. Apparently sheep, like horses, can be led to water but not counted on to drink it. Anyway, with a heavy heart, I crossed Kucinich off my list of potential bets.Somehow it was much easier to cross off Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. And I crossed off Al Gore and John Kerry with enthusiasm; those losers have had their shot at the presidency and couldn't even win against George W. Bush. I could have won against George W. Bush! (Spare me the whining about Florida, Ohio, and election theft - if either Gore or Kerry were worth a damn, they would have blown Bush away, whether Kathleen Harris was stuffing ballots in her bra or not.)
So I got down to Hillary, Barak, and John Edwards, and I took another long, hard look at the odds above. I tried my best to envision Hillary or Barak winning the nomination. Then I plopped $100 on Edwards.
Edwards is no slam dunk, but he's a man, he's white, and he's a household name - a formula that has met with some success in the past. Add the fact that Edwards is a Southern boy with a made-for-TV smile, and 5-1 starts to look awful compelling. Then again, Hillary does have Rupert Murdoch in her corner...
