The final stretch of election season is upon us. We've been inundated with election news for almost two years now. We've stayed up late to see primary results, and we've watched every aching minute of every debate and each convention. And we're not sure, but we think our eyes are permanently bloodshot.
Now we know each candidate's positions better than they do. We also know about every piece of gum they stuck under the chair in elementary school, every cigarette they smoked in high school bathroom stalls and every Nazi they ever associated with in college. So what's next?
Predicting the winner, of course.
And at a time when the recent polls show Obama leading by anywhere from three to 15 points, we need to resort to alternative methods.
Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch.com suggests each candidate's website traffic could indicate the next president of these United States. His August data showed a close race, but they haven't released the latest information. We at the Morning After hope Kincaid updates the figures before Tuesday. But just in case he doesn't, we have other crystal balls to turn to.
7-11, perhaps sensing pressure to compete with other convenience stores, has decided to diversify. Now they too offer election-predicting services. At the time of this writing, Barack Obama coffee cups have been purchased by 60 percent of participants while John McCain has only garned 40 percent of the vote. 7-11 was able to accurately predict the last two presidential elections, according to their website.
With Halloween coming up, the one method comes to mind: mask sales. Buycostumes.com says rubber Halloween mask sales have been able to accurately predict the winner of the last six elections going back to the Reagan era, USA Today reports.
And then, there's a predictor with a track record. From 1936 until 2000, the incumbent party has won the White House when the Washington Redskins win their last home game before the election. Even with 2004's inaccuracy, this method still retains a 94.4 percent rating. The 6-2 Redskins host the 5-2 Steelers Monday night.
Fellow election junkies, we've been through enough over the past 20-odd months. With all of these tarot cards and horoscopes and voodoo dolls before us, I have one question:
If the Redskins tie, should Nader start writing his inauguration speech?
Now we know each candidate's positions better than they do. We also know about every piece of gum they stuck under the chair in elementary school, every cigarette they smoked in high school bathroom stalls and every Nazi they ever associated with in college. So what's next?
Predicting the winner, of course.
And at a time when the recent polls show Obama leading by anywhere from three to 15 points, we need to resort to alternative methods.
Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch.com suggests each candidate's website traffic could indicate the next president of these United States. His August data showed a close race, but they haven't released the latest information. We at the Morning After hope Kincaid updates the figures before Tuesday. But just in case he doesn't, we have other crystal balls to turn to.
7-11, perhaps sensing pressure to compete with other convenience stores, has decided to diversify. Now they too offer election-predicting services. At the time of this writing, Barack Obama coffee cups have been purchased by 60 percent of participants while John McCain has only garned 40 percent of the vote. 7-11 was able to accurately predict the last two presidential elections, according to their website.
With Halloween coming up, the one method comes to mind: mask sales. Buycostumes.com says rubber Halloween mask sales have been able to accurately predict the winner of the last six elections going back to the Reagan era, USA Today reports.
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And then, there's a predictor with a track record. From 1936 until 2000, the incumbent party has won the White House when the Washington Redskins win their last home game before the election. Even with 2004's inaccuracy, this method still retains a 94.4 percent rating. The 6-2 Redskins host the 5-2 Steelers Monday night.
Fellow election junkies, we've been through enough over the past 20-odd months. With all of these tarot cards and horoscopes and voodoo dolls before us, I have one question:
If the Redskins tie, should Nader start writing his inauguration speech?
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