By Katie Paul 

When even bedazzlingly bad celebrity fashion is getting in on the March Madness action, it’s only natural that politics would too.

Political junkies have been all atwitter of late analyzing each candidate’s picks for their NCAA Final Four brackets. Might the inclusion of a Pennsylvania team be a political ploy, we wonder? Are the would-be leaders of the free world savvy strategists? One columnist at college paper has gone so far as to assign each candidate a different basketball team alter ego. Barack Obama’s campaign staff is in for a $10 per person pool, while John McCain’s team is running a bracket contest of its very own on his Website, through which basketball buffs can win McCain campaign gear and—oh yes, by the way—donate to the campaign. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, deferred to her ‘basketball advisor,’ her husband, on this one.

In case you’re wondering, their picks are (in no particular order):

Barack Obama: North Carolina, Kansas, Pittsburgh, UCLA
Billary Clinton: North Carolina, Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA
John McCain: North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, Connecticut

But wait, there’s more! If you relish the competitive spirit, but thought your office mates were talking about shelving when they discussed their brackets, you might consider playing politics to join in on the fun. The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies is hosting its third annual Tournament of the Presidents, where users debate and place March Madness-style votes on which former president the current candidates should look to as a guide—or, as they put it, “where commanders in chief go head to head.” Or, if a game just isn’t a game unless there’s money involved, then there’s always Intrade.

Either way, you don’t have to let the sports addicts have all the fun while you’re hard at work. Office distractions ought to be equal opportunity activities. Game on.