The world is about to see a lot more of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and one leading bookmaker is so confident that she’ll stumble in her new role as a Fox News analyst that it has set odds on “which minority group the broadcasting newbie will first offend.”
Hardly any group gets left out under the odds established by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. Gay and lesbian groups are the clear favorites, with 4-1 odds that Palin will offend them first. African-American and Muslim communities tie for second, with 6-1 odds, followed by single parents at 8-to-1, senior citizens and the poor, both at 10-to-1, and Arab Americans at 12-to-1.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are at the bottom of Paddy Power’s list, with 25-1 odds that Palin will offend them.
And perhaps because the bookmaker is so certain that Palin will stumble as a political pundit, it has also set odds on how long she’ll last at Fox. Paddy Power set 10-11 odds that she’ll be dropped between September and December, with 11-10 odds she’ll remain at the network through 2011.
Ford’s A-Head of the Pack? Of course, most of the journalistic establishment takes no sides in Congressional races, but HOH guesses that at least one faction is secretly rooting for former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) to make a run for a New York Senate seat — headline writers.
Our proof? Ford’s name lends itself to all kinds of witty headers, like these from this morning: “This Ford is driven, all right” (Albany Times Union); “Ford: I’m gearing up for Senate race” (New York Post); and “The midterms: Ford revs up” (msnbc.com).
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, start punning your engines.
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Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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