Comment Text:
I urge the CFTC to not allow any type of wagering, gambling, or other contracts based on the results of elections in the United States. Our body politic is already apathetic and led by the media to treat elections as "horse races" rather than the extremely serious business of self-government, and allowing any sort of financial speculation regarding the results of our elections would tend to push elections further into the realm of entertainment. More seriously, the temptation for election bookies (let's call them what they would be) to attempt to manipulate results for their own financial benefit would be enormous. With so many Americans having lost faith in the electoral process, what possible good could come of allowing betting on elections?
