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Betting
on candidates chances
Abraham Thomas
Betting on political races
is illegal in U. S. casinos. But this has not
deterred those who are tempted to gamble on the
fate of candidates in fray. Las Vegas, where most
of the gambling goes on and the casinos recently
occupied center stage for another reason - technical
issues raised by Democratic front runners, Hillary
Clinton and Barak Obama. Vegas has nothing to
do with betting on the chances of candidates.
Like every thing else this also goes on online.
America's Line, a based Vegas based company, predicts
the odds. The company predicts how much you win
on a bet as little as $5. Odds of Hillary Rodham
Clinton making to the White House are even. If
you bet $5, you will win $5, if she finally beats
all others in the competition and makes it to
Washington D. C. as the new President. Benjamin
Eckstein, one of the owners, reasons the pick
thus: 'We have a woman and an African American
running for President. Hillary has a sizeable
lead in some mega states on Super Tuesday (February
5), earning her front runner status', he added.
Barak Obama, the other front runners' odds are
placed at 2 to 1. Put in $5 and if he wins, you
win $10. John Edwards, who trails the two, is
too distant in bets. His odds are 40 to 1 - for
every $5 betted, the bettor can get $200, in the
unlikely event of Edwards becoming President.
On the Republican side, the odds are stiffer.
John McCain's odds are 4 to 1 - $5 will fetch
$20, if he wins. Others have still fatter chances
- Mitt Romney - odds 10 to 1 - $50 for a $5 bet,
Rudy Juliani - 12 to 1 - $60 for $5, Mike Huckabee
- 15 to 1 - $75 for $5, if he becomes President.
Commenting on Rudy's campaign, Benjamin had this
to say: 'Whoever is running his campaign might
be the same people who advised Britney Spears
to go on the MTV awards. We've dropped him (Rudy)
to third'.
Union backing did not bring in votes for Barak
Just as the unions in Iowa which were under Hillary's
control voted for Barak, the endorsement by culinary
workers in Nevada for him, did not materialize
into votes. The Culinary Workers Union with a
strength of 60,000 pledged support to Barak. But
as the caucus started, more than 50% of the 168
hotel workers who assembled, walked over to the
rival candidate, Hillary. The final break up -
50% of female voters and the same percentage of
whites voted for Hillary while one thirds of females
and one thirds of whites supported Barak. Even
among those Democratic voters for whom, economy
was the top most issue, percentage of support
to Hillary and Barak remained 50 and 33.
Nevada voters were more liberal with religious
beliefs. Mitt's Mormon religion was not a problem
with them. He got the votes of all the 25% Mormons
and 33% of evangelical Christians. Rival McCain
could muster the support of only 25% of evangelical
Christian votes. Even with those who served in
the armed services, Mitt scored over McCain, which
surprised primary watchers.
In the South Carolina Republican primary (Democrats
will have their own a few days later), McCain
had big support from independent and moderate
voters. Mike Huckabee got support from conservatives,
but could not win over many born again religious
voters. McCain's voters were mainly older voters
(40%), almost double that of Mike's. A third of
active military personnel and veterans voted for
McCain, while Mike's support was 25%. Residents
from out of the state of South Carolina, leaned
significantly towards McCain, but natives were
evenly divided between him and Mike.
For the Democratic Party ticket aspirant Hillary,
a win in South Carolina on January 26 would make
her a clear front runner. This will also prove
she's potentially favorite in any region. She
already has won New Hampshire and Nevada (and
Michigan, whose delegates the National Council
is expected to validate on her pleas). An SC win
added to these will make give her the inevitable
tag. But a win in SC will be against all odds.
Backs make up about half of the Democrat voters.
Gallop polls put Barak ahead among them. Hillary
claims support of older balck women. Barak very
badly needs to win SC, as a win would be his first
after his stunning performance in Iowa. If he
can stop Hillary in SC, Super Tuesday will be
watched with bated breath. John Edwards was born
in SC, but his campaign and winning history have
nothing to suggest he will be deciding factor,
unless he bows out of the race in support of either
of the two.
Hillary's comments about change brought about
by President Lyndon Johnson and not Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. raised a lot of criticism. To
mend for her remarks, she is attending the procession
in South Carolina in memory of the slain black
leader on his anniversary. Barak was at the receiving
end when he said the following: 'I think Ronald
Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a
way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that
Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally
different path because the country was ready for
it'. Barak who praised Reagan for 'appealing to
America's desire in 1980 for clarity, optimism
and dynamism.' Hillary was the first to mount
the attack on Barak and she also did not forget
to praise her husband's contributions when he
was at the White House.
El Paso artist to paint Portrait of First Lady
Aleksander 'Sasha' Titovets, who immigrated from
Russia 15 years to ago the Texas border city,
El Paso, has been commissioned to paint the portrait
of the first lady, Laura Bush. Recent trend is
to have two official portraits president and first
lady done. The president's portrait is commissioned
especially for the White House, while the first
lady's is commissioned for the National Portrait
Gallery in Washington D. C. In recent years it
has got harder for people to get into the White
House, so the National Portrait Gallery is where
more people get to see the first lady's portrait,
according to Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman at
the first lady's office. The painting is expected
to be completed by May, and it will be unveiled
at the Gallery in the summer.
The first lady is a big fan of El Paso and El
Pasoan Adair Margo, Chairwoman of the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities recommended
Aleksander's name, which was approved by her office.
The unveiling will be a grand affair, a celebration
of the work and the woman who inspired it, the
spokeswoman added.
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