Creepy Politicians Proposition Betting Odds
–The world political scene is bizarre and will only get more so.
–The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States might have been the most insane political event in history.
–Trump’s election was far from the first bizarre political event–it’s been a freak show for several decades.
“Rude people will now & then ask me why I think I know so much about politics. I tell them it’s because I’m smart… But that is a lie: The real reason is because I’m an incurable gambling addict.”
–Hunter S. Thompson
These are interesting times for international politics. Who are we kidding? The world political scene is downright bizarre and there’s much to suggest that things will be getting even stranger. The most hopeful component of the political insanity currently on display is that the worldwide socioeconomic power structure is becoming decentralized. The more diffuse that power becomes economically and otherwise the less influence that megalomaniac political leaders will be able to exercise on world events.
The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States might have been the most downright insane political event of the past few decades (if not ever) but it was far from the first. This is definitely true in the United States which over the past 40 plus years has experienced a series of freak show Presidents. From Watergate tainted Richard Nixon to retired B-movie actor Ronald Reagan to the Nobel Peace Prize winner with a six figure body count Barack Obama it’s more accurate to say that Trump may have refined Presidential insanity but he sure didn’t invent it.
It’s hard to determine whether the political insanity of the United States is a worldwide epidemic or if it just looks that way through delusional and paranoid American eyes. Is North Korean President Kim Jong-un just a clueless dweeb presiding over an oppressed country with an imploding economy? Or is North Korea a serious geopolitcal threat despite the fact that the country hasn’t had a successful missile launch since…ever? Is Vladimir Putin just the latest in a series of corrupt and overbearing Eastern European leaders? Or does he have at his beck and call a team of hackers with super hero like powers capable of subverting Presidential elections, single handedly manifesting the popularity of Bernie Sanders and to hear the American left suggest it just every bad thing that has happened in the world during the past decade?
By comparison, German Chancellor Andrea Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping look more and more like the only adults sitting at a table full of unruly children. President Xi is focused on growing the Chinese economy into a world powerhouse despite the United States’ best effort to instigate conflict. Chancellor Merkel, meanwhile, appears to walk around with a permanent look of aggravation on her face. Given her futile efforts to maintain some semblance of sanity among this zany group of ‘world leaders’ that’s completely understandable.
Despite the bizarre and volatile nature of world politics circa 2017 SPORTS BETTING EXPERTS has set a variety of proposition betting odds on the aforementioned world leaders:
WORLD POLITICS PROPOSITION BETTING ODDS
Who will be elected German Chancellor in 2017?
Andrea Merkel: -750
Martin Schultz: +400
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg: +1250
Field: +950
Will Xi Jinping be president of the People’s Republic of China at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: -3500
No: +1750
Will Xi Jinping be president of the People’s Republic of China at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/18?
Yes: -3000
No: +1500
Will Vladimir Putin be president of Russia at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: -2750
No: +1325
Will Vladimir Putin be president of Russia at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/18?
Yes: -900
No: +750
Will Donald Trump be president of the United States at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: -750
No: +600
Will Donald Trump be president of the United States at 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/18?
Yes: -300
No: +250
Will Donald Trump complete his full first term as president of the United States?
Yes: -210
No: +180
Year that Donald Trump leaves the office of president of the United States?
2017: +450
2018: +225
2019: +650
2020 or later: -170
Will Donald Trump meet with North Korean President Kim Jong-un by 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: +600
No: -750
Will Donald Trump travel to North Korea by 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/18?
Yes: +3500
No: -7000
Will Donald Trump host Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte at the White House by 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: +210
No: -250
Will Donald Trump meet with Mexican President Pena Nieto by 11:59 pm ET on 12/31/17?
Yes: +125
No: -145
Will Andrea Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un or Xi Jinping win the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize?
Yes: +600
No: -750
Will Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un or Xi Jinping win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Yes: +9000
No: -18000
Will Andrea Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un or Xi Jinping be named the ‘2017 Person of the Year’ by Time Magazine?
Yes: +600
No: -750
To win 2017 Nobel Peace Prize?
Andrea Merkel: +350
Vladimir Putin: +7500
Donald Trump: +7500
Kim Jong-un: +7500
Xi Jinping: +5000
Field: -750
To win 2017 Time Magazine ‘Person of the Year’?
Andrea Merkel: +950
Vladimir Putin: +1250
Donald Trump: +600
Kim Jong-un: +3500
Xi Jinping: +2750
Field: -750