Meaning...what, exactly?
People overseas are betting on Bush to win.
I means that if you bet a dollar they were going to give you only 88 cents so your return would be 1.88. Now, they will give you only 69 cents for your dollar so your return is 1.69.
At a horsetrack, a favorite will will regularly go off at 2/1, so you payoff is $2 and your return $3 on your one dollar bet.
The oddsmakers try to keep from going broke when they have a real favorite in a race. They drive the payoff DOWN. They're saying that the president is such a favorite that they only want to risk 69cents for every dollar that you bet.
Mammy's little baby loves short'nin bread