Gambling on Obama’s Acceptance Speech

I’m not a gambler, but I’m willing to wager that you’ll like the news I uncovered about Paddy Power, an Irish bookie who’s offering betting lines on a number of items related to the Democratic National Convention nomination acceptance speech Barack Obama will deliver Thursday night at Invesco Field in Denver.

Which pithy saying will Obama use first? “I’m fired up” is the bookmaker’s favorite with John F. Kennedy’s “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names” a less-likely 100:1 shot.

How many times will Obama mention ‘Change’? During the recent Nevada Democratic debate, Obama mentioned change 15 times in the 28 responses he gave. In his victory speech in South Carolina, he said the word “change” almost once every minute. How many times will Obama mention change during his speech Thursday?  “None” is set at 20:1 odds while the odds are 7:4 that he will use the word more than 20 times.

What color of tie will Obama wear? A bet on “blue” warrants 11:10 odds, while “red” nets 8:1 and a “pink” is a long shot at 12:1.

How many times will Obama sip water? Five-to-one odds say he won’t sip water, while 11:4 odds say he’ll press his lips to a glass 10 or more times.

Who will the TV cameras cut to most during Obama’s acceptance speech on Thursday? Oprah Winfrey is the best best at 5:4, while Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a long-shot at 500:1.

Specials include the following:

5:1 Hillary Clinton to be shown crying during Obama’s acceptance speech;

10:1 Any of the delegates to be pictured eating fried food;

12:1 Obama to trip up on stage;

50:1 Obama to come out on stage with his zipper open;

33:1 A power cut during the speech; and

100:1 Speech to be interrupted due to a streaker on stage.

Finally, Paddy Power is offering odds on which presidential candidate will win the election Nov. 4:

4:9 Barack Obama

13:8 John McCain

1000:1 Paris Hilton

To read the news release about Paddy Power’s politically-oriented prognostications and odds related to Obama’s Thursday night speech, click here.

Cartoon courtesy:  Political Graffiti

-- Bob McCarty Writes