Talking McCain and the NCAAs

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Thursday March 15, 2007 · 7:13 AM PDT

2007/03/15 · 07:13

Over at AMERICAblog, AJ in DC pens a great little post titled "McCain wimps out", which discusses the Republican presidential hopeful's picks for an NCAA basketball tournament bracket. Says AJ:

You might not think his own tourney selections would indicate just how lame and conservative he is ... but they do! The distinguished Senator picked not one, not two, not three, but all four number one seeds to make the Final Four. First of all, it's a terrible prediction, as all four number one seeds have never once all made it all the way through the field of 64.
More importantly, though, it's an all-time wuss move to pick all four number one seeds.
And not only that, he has no team seeded lower than 3 in his entire elite eight! What kind of person picks no significant upsets throughout the entire tournament? ... I'm offended as a basketball fan and as a political observer.

Well said, AJ, well said. But since you don't place NCAA tournament selections high on your list of qualifications for president, please allow me, tongue planted firmly in cheek*, to analyze McCain's picks and share what they mean about the candidate - and the candidate's view of America.

First and foremost, let's take a closer look at AJ's point about McCain's obvious picks, lack of upsets and general bracket cowardice. To me - and again, visiting right-wing moron, I'm joking - they say quite a bit about the man doing the selection. They say the one-time self-styled political maverick is now anything but. They say that there's little room for the underdog. They say that out-of-the-box thinking is an ill-advised move. If these picks were a character on "The Simpsons", they'd be Ned Flanders.

Three first-round upsets. Three! Most years, there's typically that many halfway through the first day, let alone first round. Not only that, his three predicted first-round upsets include two big-conference schools - Georgia Tech and Michigan State - and a team, Gonzaga, that even a third-grader knows to pencil in year after year. What's worse, as AJ says, McCain couldn't even stomach picking anyone lower than a No. 10 seed. One of his other two first-weekend upsets? Duke (6) over Pittsburgh (3) in the second round. Picking Duke in the NCAA tournament? Way to stick your neck out, Senator.

By picking no No. 12 seeds to advance, McCain is making a gamble that has only paid off twice since 1985, when the tournament expanded to 64 teams. Twice. Hell, two No. 12s won last year alone. Worse yet, as AJ says, never have all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. So, right off the bat, you realize two important things about McCain: One, he's no student of history. Two, he's senselessly optimistic in the face of overwhelming contradictory evidence and cold, hard data. Taking these character flaws into account, and considering the Oval Office's current occupant, let's not make the same mistake thrice.

Something else to think about: The man has no faith in his home-state team, Arizona, picking them to make an early, second-round exit against Florida. Is that the kind of faith President McCain would have in his own country? Apparently so, considering the fact that McCain treats the underdog in this tournament like his party treats the Constitution. So, I ask you, is America really ready for another ill-informed front-runner armed not with facts and anecdotal evidence but instead with a paucity of faith in his own people? Hardly. John McCain: Bad for the NCAAs. Bad for America.

* How long until the can't-take-a-punch bunch (even a joking one) accuses AJ of demeaning a veteran?

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