While Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to duke it out for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Upper Deck Company is predicting a winner with the release of its "Presidential Predictor" parody cards. Today, the sports card leader unveiled the new baseball card, which depicts Hillary Clinton holding up Barack Obama in a victorious celebration. The setting for Upper Deck's latest political parody was inspired by Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek hoisting up an elated Jonathan Papelbon following the final out of the 2007 Boston Red Sox World Series victory.

(Select the thumbnail provided to view in a larger version)

"This has been a challenging initiative because the race for the Democratic nomination has been so, so close over the last few months," said Kerri Stockholm, Upper Deck's director of Sports Marketing. "It was difficult to predict the winner just a few weeks ago, and even more difficult when we started. Ultimately, we wanted to depict both candidates emerging from a hard-fought race in a hopeful and positive manner."

The insert card in question is just part of a second round of "Presidential Predictor" parody cards that Upper Deck originally launched in February. This second set of cards is randomly inserted in the company's 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Series Two release. The cards, which hit store shelves in early June, will be inserted (on average) one in every six packs.

"The Presidential Predictor cards are both topical and objective," said Stockholm. "With the momentum of the race changing almost every day, we wanted to wait as long as we could to represent the more likely scenario."

Earlier this year, Upper Deck married the two hotbeds of debate -- baseball and politics -- by producing a very unique "Presidential Predictor" eight-card set. The illustrated parodies showed several of the top candidates in rare form by tying each of them to a pivotal moment or personality from baseball's glorious history. Notable names in the first round of "Presidential Predictor" cards included Obama, John Edwards, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson.

(see the images from the original "Presidential Predictor" set)

Collectors who pull any of the Presidential Predictor cards from packs will have the opportunity to win a trip for two to throw out the "presidential" first pitch at an official Major League Baseball game during the 2009 season. They simply need to type in the static code(s) found on the backs of the cards at http://www.presidentialpredictor.com to gain entry into an Upper Deck Baseball sweepstakes. The top prize will be open to all collectors who register the trading card of the eventual Presidential winner.

Source: Upper Deck 

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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