The Odds on 2012
As with sporting events--where the best predictors often aren't TV pundits, or Internet pundits, or any pundit at all, but the people with actual cash on the line--political outcomes can sometimes most coldly and efficiently be discussed in succinct fractions. So, for 2012 speculation, it is perhaps best to turn to bookies.
Betting on politics will get heavier as he 2012 elections loom, but Mitt Romney is, at present, the chosen Republican favorite of most futures speculators, though one major site gives the edge to Sarah Palin. Odds are set by bookies to attract the most action on all sides; it's probable that not many bets are coming in at this point, and, as primary season approaches and the 2012 betting gets heavier, the lines will almost certainly move.
Here are the odds being offered by three online sports books on the next president:
Barack Obama: 4/5
Sarah Palin: 10/1
Mitt Romney: 12/1
Joe Biden: 15/1
Mike Huckabee: 15/1
Rob Portman: 15/1
Hillary Clinton: 15/1
Al Gore: 20/1
Tim Pawlenty: 20/1
Evan Bayh: 20/1
Bobby Jindal: 20/1
Michael Bloomberg: 20/1
Condoleezza Rice: 20/1
Jeb Bush: 20/1
Bill Frist: 25/1
Charlie Crist: 25/1
Rudy Giuliani: 30/1
John Edwards: 30/1
David Petraeus: 40/1
Ron Paul: 50/1
Mark Sanford: 50/1
John McCain: 50/1
Donald Trump: 50/1
Newt Gingrich: 50/1
Mark Warner: 50/1
Joe Wurzelbacher: 100/1
Barack Obama: 5/6
Mitt Romney: 8/1
Sarah Palin: 14/1
Mitch Daniels: 14/1
Tim Pawlenty: 16/1
Jon Huntsman: 16/1
Hillary Clinton: 20/1
Bobby Jindal: 20/1
Condoleezza Rice: 20/1
John Thune: 20/1
John Boehner: 20/1
Haley Barbour: 20/1
Joe Biden: 25/1
Mike Huckabee: 25/1
Marco Rubio: 25/1
Newt Gingrich: 25/1
Evan Bayh: 28/1
Mark Sanford: 28/1
Charlie Crist: 28/1
Jeb Bush: 28/1
Michael Bloomberg: 33/1
Bill Frist: 33/1
David Petraeus: 33/1
Rudy Giuliani: 33/1
Al Gore: 50/1
Tom Ridge: 50/1
Sam Brownback: 50/1
Fred Thompson: 50/1
Ron Paul: 55/1
Barack Obama: 2.1/1
Mitt Romney: 11/1
Sarah Palin: 13.5/1
John Thune: 17/1
Mitch Daniels: 28/1
Mike Huckabee: 30/1
Tim Pawlenty: 36/1
Hillary Clinton: 36/1
Newt Gingrich: 38/1
Chris Christie: 38/1
Marco Rubio: 46/1
Jeb Bush: 50/1
Ron Paul: 60/1
Haley Barbour: 65/1
Joe Biden: 65/1
Michael Bloomberg: 70/1
Mike Pence: 80/1
Bobby Jindal: 90/1
Jon Huntsman: 110/1
Gary Johnson: 120/1
David Petraeus: 150/1
Jim DeMint: 150/1
Rick Santorum: 220/1
Eric Cantor: 350/1
Lesson being: if you're going to bet on Romney, take him at 12/1 instead of 8/1.