<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Don’t take this too seriously, but a glimmer of hope has emerged for the first time ever, that the libertarians might win the Whitehouse. No, I don’t mean Gary Johnson might win: it is looking like one of those other two fellers will win, either Romney or Obama. But I just did the math and found something cool. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The tossup states are now New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada. In the even that Mr. Obama takes NH, OH and WI, and Mr. Romney takes IA, CO and NV, then the final score in electoral votes turns out to be a tie, 269 each. If that happens, the tiebreak for president goes to the house of representatives, which is controlled by Mr. Romney’s party by a healthy margin. The vice president is decided by the senate, which is controlled by Mr. Obama’s party, so they will likely elect Joe Biden. So if the above combination plays out, the US would split parties in the Whitehouse.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The president has authority over what jobs the VP is assigned. Mr. Romney would likely assign Mr. Biden to go into his office and stay there for the next four years, just as Bush Senior did with his VP Dan Quayle. On the other hand, Mr. Biden, who has presidential aspirations, is then free to make any criticism, say whatever he wants about the president, utterly without negative consequences, since the president cannot fire him. We then face a rather unique election in 2016 where a sitting president is running against a sitting vice president.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In any case, should all this happen, the president and vice president criticizing each other weakens the office of both, the power of the executive branch is diminished and the libertarians get what libertarians really want: not to be elected, but rather to decrease the concentration of power.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>