March Madness 2011: Obama Bracket Navigates Political Minefield of Presidents and Sports

Those who don't learn from history, the saying goes, are doomed to repeat it.

And so it goes with presidents and sports.

Presidents with a populist take on sports are nothing new, all the way back to President William Howard Taft throwing out the first ball on Opening Day. Legend has it that John F. Kennedy told his supporters in 1960 that he couldn't seriously begin his presidential campaign until after that year's Series. 

It was a simpler time. For one thing, the 1960 World Series would end before Election Day.

From Kennedy to Johnson and college football to Nixon phoning in plays to Super Bowl coaches; to Ford and Michigan football to Carter and his jogging to Reagan; from the ex-sportscaster with his congratulatory phone calls to Bush, the all-around sportsman, to Clinton and golf; to Bush and baseball and Obama and basketball, both presidents and hopefuls have used sports to prove their common touch.

And woe to a presidential candidate that allowed sports to make him look foolish: Gerald Ford was infamous for hitting spectators and participants with both golf and tennis shots. Jimmy Carter was once attacked by a swimming rabbit, Bob Dole made a stoop speech reference to pitcher Hideo Nomo and the "Brooklyn" Dodgers, Ronald Reagan once uncorked an Opening Day wild pitch, and John Kerry, pressed to name a favorite player on his "beloved" Boston Red Sox, replied, "Manny Ortiz."

So it's a bit of a thankless task when Barack Obama fills out his annual NCAA Tournament bracket. Once he was chided by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for forecasting the early elimination of the Blue Devils, and just this week criticized by former Speaker of the House and possible presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, that Billy Packer of the political realm, for going on ESPN to discuss his picks.

Maybe nothing bridges more gaps between Americans than the NCAA tournament, and rather than allow the president a lighthearted distraction, political opponents piled on instead. And the administration heightened the controversy by trying to defensively justify it.

Here's what President Obama should have said:

"My fellow Americans, because March Madness is something we can care about together, and provide us a welcome diversion from the realities of everyday life, I am pleased to share my predictions with you through a media in desperate need of both filling airspace and delivering online content."

"While I would caution you against taking these picks to the bank, not because of anti-wagering regulations in most states, but because any basketball fan knows that those of us who follow the sport are abominable at predicting these match-ups. I would advise you to seek Michelle's advice instead."

"But let me be clear: my participation should not cause you to overestimate the importance of the NCAA tournament to our lives and responsibilities as Americans. In fact, like most of you, I plan on blowing off most of Thursday and Friday afternoon to watch some hoops."

"I'll be pulling on my Columbia sweatshirt and some old wind pants, grabbing a beer and putting my feet up on the coffee table. Maybe I'll even smoke a cigarette or eat some unhealthful food from the school lunches of American children of which you gave my wife so much grief when she spoke up about them."

"In other words, I won, and I've got your political capital right here, and now I'm going to spend it. Thank you."

For the record, the president's published bracket was 29-3 through the opening rounds of the tournament. Now who'd you rather have a beer with, America?