Running For President Is A Lot Like Playing Baseball
...The following is taken from George W. Bush’s 2000 Campaign web page...
The Game
Leagues/Parties
There are two divisions in professional baseball – the American League and the National League. In politics there are two large parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. (There are also other parties.)
Spring Training/Experience
Baseball teams prepare for the regular season during spring training. They organize their teams and practice. Candidates are leaders in their community, state or the nation. They also organize their teams before the elections to prepare for the campaign.
Regular Season/Pre-Primary (1999)
During the regular season, baseball teams play each other many times. They take road trips to other cities and play at home. Candidates running for president in each of the parties also take road trips. They visit many different cities where they attend rallies, give speeches and meet voters. Road trips help candidates take their message to Americans. Like baseball players, candidates compete. The Ames straw poll in August was an important “regular season” competition. The Ames straw poll was not an election, but it did show the strength and organization of the Republican 2000 candidates. Governor Bush won the Ames straw poll in Iowa in August 1999.
Playoffs/Primaries (January 2000 through July 2000)
In baseball, the strongest teams make it to the playoffs, where they play teams in their own league. Strong presidential candidates make it thought the regular season to the primaries, where they run against other candidates in their party in separate state primary or caucus elections. Each state can give candidates different numbers of votes depending on the size of the state. The candidate with the most primary or caucus votes becomes the nomineee.
World Series (August 2000 through November 7, 2000
In baseball, winners of the playoffs go to the World Series. This is a big event. The winner of the World Series must win four of seven games. In politics, there is only one world series game on Election Day. Candidates in each party travel the country rallying support and encouraging Americans to vote for them. The candidate with the most votes on Election Day wins. The winner becomes President of the United States in January 2001.