Even presidents need a touch of madness − in March

Then-Vice President Joe Biden at the NCAA men’s Final Four semifinal between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Syracuse Orange on April 2, 2016, in Houston. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images by Daniel Palazzolo, University of Richmond Why would a president faced with lingering inflation at home and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, among other problems, take time out to participate in the annual sports fan’s ritual of March Madness? The “madness” began this year on March 17, when a committee appointed by the NCAA announced the field of 68 college basketball teams in each of two divisions – one for men and one for women – selected to compete for a national championship. The teams are divided into four brackets and seeded from 1 to 16, from best to worst, according to the judgment of the committee. The last two surviving men’s teams play on April 8 in the championship game, and the women’s surviving teams finish on April 7. Tens of millions of college basketball fans, including the president if he chooses, take part in the ritual of filling out brackets, a task that involves trying to predict the winning teams starting with the first round of...