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Obama Picks No. 1 Seeds In NCAA March Madness

WASHINGTON (AP/CBS13) -- President Barack Obama still believes in Kansas to win it all, and apparently that all four No. 1 seeds will reach the final four.

For the third straight year, Obama has filled out an NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN, a tradition highly ridiculed by the GOP. As the president it comes as no surprise that he sided with the popular majority, picking Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh to make the men's Final Four, with the Jayhawks beating the Buckeyes in the national championship game. It's also interesting to note the possible politics on the court, as three of those four No. 1 seeds -- Duke, Pittsburgh and Ohio State -- represent the so called swing states that Obama hopes to gain voter support from again in 2012.

March Madness is known for its enthralling games, usually characterized by a few outrageous upsets and buzzard beaters that have us fans on the edge of our seats and our brackets busted, but President Obama presents us with an extremely conservative model. Where's the fun in that?

Obama also picked Kansas to win the title last season, but Northern Iowa upset the Jayhawks in the second round. Duke went on to defeat Butler for the championship.

His pick to win it all was revealed Wednesday on SportsCenter.
Obama also predicts that No. 1 seeds Baylor, UConn, Stanford and Tennessee will advance to the Final Four in the women's tournament. His full bracket will be unveiled Friday morning.

While American sports fans seem somewhat interested to find out whether or not the president's bracket is as predictable as he has indicated thus far, others simply have no sympathy for him in the midst of all that is occurring in the world, declaring that the real madness is Obama making the college basketball tournament part of his agenda.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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