McCain:Triskaidekaphobic!

Sen. John McCain is famously superstitious-he won't take a salt shaker from a passer's hand:bad luck-and now those black rituals are permeating his campaign and the people who work for him."That's an ugly habit I've picked up myself," said Brooke Buchanan, the senator's national press secretary."We were in Kansas City last Sunday and someone mentioned winning in November and three of us knocked on wood.We don't want to jinx anything. We're all very superstitious people."Top adviser Mark Salter (left) has also been infected."I grew a beard in 2000 and didn't shave until the campaign was over and I did it this time, too. That's my little superstition.I probably won't shave it until November,"he said, adding that he's not sure if McCain "considers it lucky or if he considers it an eyesore.McCain has a whole slew of superstitions and rituals, many stemming from his days as a Navy fighter pilot, a notoriously superstitious bunch. He won't throw a hat on a bed (bad luck), and he carries a lucky feather, a lucky compass, and a lucky penny-and nickel, and quarter."He had so many of them that we had to cut down-it was like a change purse in his pocket," Buchanan said with a laugh. He carries a lucky penny given to him by New Hampshire Union Leader Publisher Joseph W. McQuaid just before McCain pulled off the win there Jan. 8 (the penny was found heads up, of course). McCain also carries a nickel he found outside his Columbia, S.C., hotel just before the primary there (and his second primary win gave him momentum into Florida, ending the race).He's also got a quarter in there, "but I think he just found that on the ground,"Buchanan said."It's always what he finds heads up."Still, it's what she called a "a lucky drummer boy quarter"-a 1976 commemorative quarter for the bicentennial.He doesn't have a dime, but almost picked one up in January. When he went to the GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Arizona senator noticed a shiny dime on the floor of the stage. He stooped for a closer look, but it was tails up-rejected. (Question: What if you drop a quarter on the floor in your bathroom and it ends up heads down? You could never pick it up, right?)He's got more stuff on him, too. On St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, "this guy had a lucky four-leaf clover that was laminated," Buchanan said. "He pulled it out of his pocket and told the senator it had brought him good luck and now the senator carries it around in his wallet." "Am I superstitious? I'm that,'' McCain said. "But I don't think I'm alone there.''Certainly not among his staff."I've always been superstitous as well, like I hate the number 13," Buchanan said. Good thing she doesn't spend much time at the Crystal City headquarters of the campaign. While the elevator button for the campaign floor says "M," it actually is the 13th floor."Why did you have to bring that up? It is the M floor-the M floor, for McCain!" she said laughing.Other presidents have been superstitious: FDR also suffered from triskaidekaphobia, inviting his secretary along if a dinner was to have 13 people and never traveling on the 13th day of a month (he'd depart at 11:55 p.m. on the 12th if necessary). Reagan always had a lucky coin and gold charm in his pocket, knocked on wood often, never walked under ladders and tossed salt over his left shoulder when he spilled some (McCain does that, too). He and wife Nancy admitted reading syndicated horoscopes.Seeking to cash in on superstitions, Zodiac vodka has looked to the stars to find the next president."Based on non-partisan research of the fifty-five United States presidential elections to date and the astrological signs of each winning candidate through the years, ZODIAC Vodka, a luxury potato vodka handcrafted and distilled in Idaho, USA, has concluded that the Leo, Barack Obama, will defeat the Scorpio, Hillary Clinton for the democratic nomination, as well as, the Virgo, John McCain in the general election..."ZODIAC researched every major presidential contestant since Washington and Adams in 1789. Statistics were compiled for each of the twelve zodiac signs. The Leo/Scorpio match up in the Democratic Party heavily favors Obama. Leos have a 12 point advantage in the win percentage category, with Scorpio at 24 percent and Leo at 36 percent. Leo has never lost to a Scorpio. Scorpio, however, has lost to 11 of the 12 signs and has the greatest number of election losses, 16."Your blogster is going to base all further reporting on whatever the luxury potato drink says (speak to me luxury potato drink). And next up: If it's McCain vs. Obama, that's two left-handers. What do the stars say about that?
By Joseph Curl, senior White House correspondent, The Washington Times
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/joecurl/2008/04/mccain_triskaidekaphobic_1.html

As in the days of Noah....