That’s then-campaigner Barrack Obama pressing the flesh with Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher.
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher? Oh yah, he’s Joe the Plumber. Joe seems to be emerging as a potential Phoenix to lift the GOP from the ashes, along with such other worthies as Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin.
BetOnline.com, an online betting website, web site, is now accepting bets on Wurzelbacher’s, er, Joe’s political prospects. In case you’re interested in getting some bucks down on this, here are some of the odds the web site lists:
bq. Will Joe run for president in 2011/2012 election cycle? A bet for YES currently pays 12-1.
bq. Will Joe run for “public office” (any type) in 2009? YES pays 3.5-1.
bq. Will Joe win any elected seat in 2009? YES pays 8-1.
bq. Will Joe the Plumber make a bid for the House of Representatives? YES pays 8-1.
bq. Will Joe WIN a seat in the House of Representatives? YES pays 15-1.
bq. Will Joe be hired by any major television news network in 2009? YES pays 6-1.
Here’s a challenge for all those political scientists who love to develop fancy models to predict the outcome of presidential elections: Develop some models that predict, four or three or even two years in advance, who the out-party presidential nominee is going to be. And then put your money where your mouth is at BetOnline.com. Anybody want to give it a try?
[Hat tip to Tim Williams of www.BetOnline.com]