Barack Obama Has An NCAA Basketball Pool

Wow, he's just like us! Let's all go out and vote for him right away! /Snark.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Could Barack Obama's NCAA championship pick have something to do with an upcoming primary?

No, he was leaning toward North Carolina because of its 6-foot-9 star.

The Democratic presidential candidate and avid basketball player selected North Carolina, Kansas, Pittsburgh and UCLA in his Final Four bracket, and is counting on North Carolina to beat UCLA in the championship game.

During his short flight Wednesday from Fayetteville to Charlotte, N.C., Obama began working on his NCAA basketball tournament bracket. The campaign staff is competing in a $10 per person pool.

So, he's admitting he's involved in illegal gambling? Hmm . . .

Pressed in an interview with the Charlotte Observer on Wednesday about his picks, Obama said he was swayed by the Tar Heels' 6-foot-9 star Tyler Hansbrough, not politics.

"That's a big boy, there," he said. "So I've got to fill it out, I've got to do a little bracketology before I make a final decision."

(And in the interest of fairness, McCain allegedly has a Final Four bracket as well. I couldn't care less about that one, either.)