On my morning commute, I was behind a car sporting a “McGovern-Shriver 1972” bumper sticker. And immediately next to it in the congested traffic was a car with an SDS sticker. (Update: A D.C.-area reader tells me that the SDS sticker I saw was probably for a local swim club.)

A more positive omen: The last time (and, so far, the only time) the Phillies won the World Series was in 1980, just before Ronald Reagan’s come-from-behind victory in the presidential election.