# Presidential March Madness **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 21, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825 "2009-02-21T06:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/1 "2009-02-21T06:01:09Z")
With March approaching, it’s time for the Madness to begin. The rules remain the same. Pick one choice in each match-up (based on whatever criteria you want). The winners advance to the next round. You can cast your votes for this round until Tuesday at 11:00 pm (EST). The game is between Presidents. As wildcards, I’ve included some Presidential candidates and Vice Presidents. And this is a game, not a debate. Let’s have good sportsmanship and no trash talking. The Democratic Conference Barack Obama vs Alben Barkley John Kerry vs Al Gore Lyndon Johnson vs Hubert Humphrey John F. Kennedy vs George McGovern Bill Clinton vs Joe Biden Franklin D. Roosevelt vs Michael Dukakis Jimmy Carter vs Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman vs Walter Mondale The Republican Conference George W. Bush vs Spiro Agnew Bob Dole vs Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford vs Dick Cheney Richard Nixon vs Alf Landon George H.W. Bush vs Nelson Rockefeller John McCain vs Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan vs Dan Quayle Dwight Eisenhower vs Wendell Wilkie ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/2 "2009-02-21T06:27:33Z")
Barack Obama Al Gore Hubert Humphrey John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman The Republican Conference George W. Bush Barry Goldwater Dick Cheney Alf Landon George H.W. Bush Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/3 "2009-02-21T07:56:47Z")
I wish to file a protest against the bracketing, which seems designed to force a Dem vs Pubbie final, and on this board, the Dem is a prohibitive favorite. That noted, my picks are bolded. The Democratic Conference \*\*Barack Obama \*\*vs Alben Barkley John Kerry vs **Al Gore** **Lyndon Johnson** vs Hubert Humphrey **John F. Kennedy** vs George McGovern **Bill Clinton** vs Joe Biden **Franklin D. Roosevelt** vs Michael Dukakis Jimmy Carter vs Adlai Stevenson **Going with a double DQ finish in this match. No winner.** **Harry S Truman** vs Walter Mondale The Republican Conference George W. Bush vs Spiro Agnew **Another double DQ. No winner.** **Bob Dole** vs Barry Goldwater \*\*Gerald Ford \*\*vs Dick Cheney **Richard Nixon** vs Alf Landon **George H.W. Bush** vs Nelson Rockefeller \*\*John McCain \*\*vs Thomas Dewey \*\*Ronald Reagan \*\*vs Dan Quayle **Dwight Eisenhower** vs Wendell Wilkie And, to fearlessly predict the matchup in the finals–I say it will be Republican Heavyweight Champion Ronald Reagan vs Democratic Upstart Barack Obama. Obama will win in a blowout. Note: Not knocking Obama, just calling him an Upstart because he’s the new kid on the block. Also, where’s Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, et al? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/4 "2009-02-21T13:46:33Z")
The Democrat Conference Barack Obama John Kerry Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman The Republican Conference Blech Barry Goldwater Dick Cheney Richard Nixon George H.W. Bush Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/5 "2009-02-21T14:00:26Z")
Yay! I love a good madness! The Democratic Conference Barack Obama Al Gore Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman The Republican Conference Spiro Agnew (tough one – but have to give it to a couple of years of crooked over 8 years of massive incompetence) Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Alf Landon Nelson Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/6 "2009-02-21T14:14:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I wish to file a protest against the bracketing, which seems designed to force a Dem vs Pubbie final, and on this board, the Dem is a prohibitive favorite. This is true, but it seems to me that the alternative would be to have all of the Republican candidates knocked out in early rounds, as many people would just be voting on party lines. My pix: Barack Obama Al Gore Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman Spiro Agnew Bob Dole Gerald Ford Richard Nixon George H.W. Bush John McCain Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/7 "2009-02-21T14:25:53Z")
The Democratic Conference Barack Obama Al Gore Hubert Humphrey George McGovern Joe Biden Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman The Republican Conference Spiro Agnew Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Alf Landon Nelson Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Dan Quayle Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/8 "2009-02-21T15:16:43Z")
Barack Obama Al Gore Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman The Republican Conference Spiro Agnew Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Richard Nixon Nelson Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/9 "2009-02-21T15:41:22Z")
Barack Obama Al Gore Hubert Humphrey George McGovern Joe Biden Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman Spiro Agnew Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Alf Landon Nelson Rockefeller John McCain Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/10 "2009-02-21T16:19:06Z")
Appropriately enough, my picks for the Democrats are highlighted in blue, while the Republicans are reddened The Democratic Conference Barack Obama vs Alben Barkley John Kerry vs Al Gore Lyndon Johnson vs Hubert Humphrey John F. Kennedy vs George McGovern Bill Clinton vs Joe Biden Franklin D. Roosevelt vs Michael Dukakis Jimmy Carter vs Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman vs Walter Mondale The Republican Conference George W. Bush vs Spiro Agnew Bob Dole vs Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford vs Dick Cheney Richard Nixon vs Alf Landon George H.W. Bush vs Nelson Rockefeller John McCain vs Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan vs Dan Quayle Dwight Eisenhower vs Wendell Willkie ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/11 "2009-02-21T16:47:03Z")
The Democratic Conference Barack Obama Al Gore Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman The Republican Conference Pass Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Richard Nixon George H.W. Bush John McCain Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower No Whig division?! What a gyp! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/12 "2009-02-22T03:52:26Z")
[quote=“Little\_Nemo, post:1, topic:486825”] The Democratic Conference Barack Obama Al Gore Hubert Humphrey John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman The Republican Conference George W. Bush Barry Goldwater Gerald Ford Alf Landon Nelson Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/13 "2009-02-22T18:25:44Z")
Barack Obama Al Gore Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman George W. Bush Bob Dole Gerald Ford Richard Nixon Nelson Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/14 "2009-02-25T17:02:24Z")
Sorry about that. I forgot to post the scores last night. As it turns out, we had some close elections and I had to invoke my special executive powers to cast the tie-breaking vote. The Democratic Conference Barack Obama 11 Alben Barkley 1 Al Gore 11 John Kerry 1 Lyndon Johnson 7 Hubert Humphrey 5 John F. Kennedy 10 George McGovern 2 Bill Clinton 9 Joe Biden 3 Franklin D. Roosevelt 12 Michael Dukakis 0 Jimmy Carter 7 Adlai Stevenson 4 pass 1 Harry S Truman 12 Walter Mondale 0 The Republican Conference Spiro Agnew 5 George W. Bush 4 pass 3 Barry Goldwater 9 Bob Dole 3 Gerald Ford 10 Dick Cheney 2 Richard Nixon 7 Alf Landon 6 George H.W. Bush 7 Nelson Rockefeller 6 Thomas Dewey 8 John McCain 4 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/15 "2009-02-25T17:08:25Z")
Damn, I accidentally cut off the last part of the post. I’m not getting off to a good start here. Ronald Reagan 11 Dan Quayle 1 Dwight Eisenhower 12 Wendell Wilkie 0 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/16 "2009-02-25T17:10:40Z")
Round II is up [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10873339#post10873339). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/17 "2009-02-25T17:10:51Z")
Never mind. On to the next. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-march-madness/486825/18 "2009-02-25T19:56:13Z")
Oh well… (for posterity’s sake…) Barack Obama John Kerry Lyndon Johnson John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton Franklin D. Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson Harry S Truman Spiro Agnew Barry Goldwater Dick Cheney Richard Nixon Nelson Rockefeller John McCain Ronald Reagan Dwight Eisenhower