NPR March Madness - 2012 GOP Primary

March Madness is upon us, and as has been the case these past few years, someone on the web has twisted it into a political season. This time, it's NPR.

March Madness: The 2012 Republican Primaries

Everybody is filling out brackets, including the president of the United States. Why not? It's March Madness! Every year at this time, it takes the nation by storm. It's the NCAA basketball tournament (or, as someone once said on NPR -- I kid you not -- the "NAACP Tournament"). But then it's over.

It doesn't have to be.

How to combine the excitement of picking winners and making it last? Simple. Especially when you're picking the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

Let's face it, Barack Obama is going to head up the Democrats in 2012. So the action will be on the GOP side. Seeded below are 32 potential (and yes, some far-fetched) Republican presidential candidates. As the NCAA tourney gets under way, we'll update our GOP brackets as well. I'll compare your picks with mine.

Don't let the Liberal Media Elite decide that Rush Limbaugh is the head of the Republican Party! Fill in your brackets today. The first round of results will be announced next Tuesday, March 24. Then three more rounds will be announced on March 30, April 1 and April 3. The final result -- the name of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee -- will be announced on Tuesday, April 7.

Why go through the expense of primaries and caucuses? Fill in your picks now!

We're into the Sweet Sixteen, right now. Don't forget to cast your vote here! Here are my picks for the Sweet Sixteen:

• Sarah Palin vs. Mike Pence: Pence. This was a very hard choice.
• Jed Bush vs. Paul Ryan: Ryan. I don't really know that much about Paul Ryan. Another Bush, even if it's a more conservative one, just isn't what our party needs.
  
• Jim DeMint vs. Mike Huckabee: Huckabee. This one wasn't too hard, since I'm a Huckabee fan, but I do like Jim DeMint, as he's one of Tom Coburn's allies in the Senate.
• Newt Gingrich vs. Tim Pawlenty: T-Paw. I think Gingrich's days in elected office are over.
  
• Mitt Romney vs. Ron Paul: Paul. Much as I dislike Ron Paul, some of his positions, many of his supporters, I like Mitt Romney even less. 2nd place finish in Iowa for Romney = $9,000,000. Cost per Romney delegate = $294,000. Getting beat by Ron Paul = Priceless. Let 'The Paul' get beat in the next round, after Romney is kicked out.
  
• Sam Brownback vs. Jon Huntsman: Brownback. While Brownback has the personality of a tree stump, Huntsman isn't as conservative as I like. Easy pick.
  
• Meg Whitman vs. Mark Sanford: Sanford. Hands-down Mark Sanford. An impressive guy.
  
• Charlie Crist vs. Bobby Jindal: Jindal. Massive intellectual conservative firepower versus moderate Obamaconism? Easy.
  

Well, there you have it. Don't forget to vote.