“Redskins Rule” Could Decide ‘08 Election

Unearthed in 2000 by a sports researcher trying to provide television announcers with something interesting to talk about on the air, the “Redskins Rule” has quickly become a phenomenon of Presidential prognostication.

In fact, depending on who you ask, the rule has either correctly predicted 16 of the last 17 U.S. presidential elections … or gotten all of them right.

More on that in a minute.

First, here’s how the rule works … “if the Washington Redskins win their last home game prior to the presidential election, the candidate representing the incumbent party remains in office. If the Redskins lose, the incumbent party also loses.”

That’s not chiseled in stone anywhere, of course, but it’s one way of saying that as the Redskins go, so goes the incumbent party.

In fact, the only time the “Redskins Rule” has failed to accurately predict the U.S. presidential winner was in 2004, when Washington fell 28-14 to the Green Bay Packers just prior to the election and yet George W. Bush still won.

Other than that, the rule has been perfectly prescient (even pegging Truman over Dewey), and some argue that Al Gore’s victory in the popular vote in 2000 gets the rule off the hook for its blurry ‘04 crystal ball.

The “Redskins Rule” will have additional drama behind it tonight, as both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will make special guest appearances on Monday Night Football with ESPN anchor Chris Berman.

In case you’re wondering, the 6-2 Skins’ are favored by a field goal over the 5-2 Steelers … which means McCain may have a shot at this thing after all, despite what the polls say.

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