Obama Vs. McCain: The Only Way To Decide

Barack Obama's NCAA Tournament office pool brackets vs. John McCain's: It's a battle for the ages, the likes of which America hasn't seen since the great Lincoln-Douglas baseball rotissierie league showdown of 1859. Who will prevail? The race for the White House — and the fate of the nation — may hang in the balance. Both candidates released their entire NCAA tournament brackets on Thursday, and yes, we scored them, and we have a leader.

Scoring one point for each first-round victory so far, the tally after Thursday's games:

Obama 13, McCain 12.

McCain was tripped up in two key areas: He picked Kent State, while Obama avoided that potential quagmire and correctly tabbed UNLV. McCain also went with Arizona; an obviously partisan pick that may cast doubt on his overall judgment. Obama was tripped by by Winthrop, which he inexplicably picked over Washington State, and he has scheduled a press conference for later today to explain the gaffe. The only team to be incorrectly picked by both candidates was USC.

As for Hillary Clinton's NCAA picks, she has not yet released those documents.

Meanwhile, Ralph Nader is that guy in your office who every year turns in his pool brackets three hours after the games have started on Thursday, pleading "I haven't been looking at the scores, honest!"

Barak Obama's NCAA Tournament bracket [CBS News] John McCain's NCAA Tournament bracket [John McCain.com]