ClayNation: Paid for by the Committee for Football Attack Ads

Of late, it is popular to say that the candidate who ends up getting elected President is the one who voters would most like to share a beer with. Even if, as is the case with George W. Bush, the candidate doesn't actually drink. I think the beer analogy is wrong. For better or worse, we now choose our President based not on such antiquated notions of intelligence, skill or acumen, but rather, on whom we would prefer to attend a football game with.

That's right, sports fandom has now become our own national Rorschach test. If you seem like a more legitimate fan of your team than your opponent, you're going to get elected President. Don't believe me? Since 1980, the candidate who has been the biggest sports fan has won each election. Former baseball play-by-play man and the Gipper, Ronald Reagan, beat Jimmy Carter in 1980. Reagan then beat Walter Mondale in 1984. George Bush, who had played in the baseball World Series at Yale, beat Michael Dukakis. Bill Clinton appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in Razorback warm-ups and beat George Bush and Bob Dole. Even though Clinton didn't have the athletic background of Bush, his own passion for sports was self-evident and expansive.

Bill Clinton and family cheers on the Arkansas Razorbacks. (Getty Images)

Then, for the past two election cycles, the former owner of the Texas Rangers, George W. Bush, beat both Al Gore and John "Lambert Field" Kerry. In fact, if Watergate hadn't happened (Carter's defeat of Gerald Ford led to the triumph of the lesser sports fan) the first fan-in-chief argument probably extends all the way back to Harry Truman in 1948.

Why does Presidential candidate fandom have such relevance for Americans today? I think to a large degree it's because you can't fake fandom. Fandom is illogical, uncontrollable and provides a realistic window into the mind of an individual who is otherwise hidden and careful in his remarks. And we crave realism so much from our leaders that people who can't tell whether a candidate's budget plan or tax policy is the right direction for the country can, in some way, discern whether or not a candidate is a true fan. Then, on some level, they trust that person to do the best job they can under the circumstances, just as they would trust their own fellow fan to try to act in the best interests of the team. The President's life might be the most irregular in the entire country, yet paradoxically it is in moments of extreme regularity that the election is won.

George W. Bush is presented with a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey. (Getty Images)

Take Bill Clinton for instance. One of the primary criticisms of Clinton was that his every fiber was political. According to his critics, Clinton woke up every morning with his finger already extended into the air to gauge the political winds. Yet when he rooted for the Arkansas Razorbacks, Clinton seemed unwilling to follow the script. Watch tape of Clinton attending Razorbacks games during his Presidency. He curses, clenches his jaw, reacts with utter dismay and fervently roots for his home-state team against all others. In these moments, voters get a sense of a person who isn't being controlled, isn't worried about perception and isn't angling for political gain. He's just being himself. Again, fandom can't be faked.

Hillary Clinton, who is much less deft politically and much less of a sports fan, has famously claimed to have been a New York Yankees fan her entire life. Every sports fan knows this is complete blasphemy. If Hillary attended a Yankees game, does anyone doubt she wouldn't cheer appropriately or really care if they lost? At no point would she roll her eyes over an error or curse a pitching change. And that's why she isn't going to be the next President of the United States.

So in honor of the midterm elections, I'm introducing the ClayNation Fan-in-Chief scale. We'll play with this thing by ranking the Presidential aspirants via sports fandom legitimacy as we head into the 2008 election season. I'm going to ask you guys to keep me updated on articles or sightings in which you think the candidates either legitimately or illegitimately claim to be fans of a particular team. It's my firm belief that we can all determine, via the legitimacy of their sports fandom, who will be elected President in 2008 well before the actual election. Until then, let's start seeing more of those college football attack ads.