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If John McCain wants my vote he must dump Sarah Palin and fast. Judging by the latest polls showing Barack Obama moving ahead and gaining traction, I'm not the only one that feels this way. The outcome of the election is key to investors worried about a range of issues including the $700 billion federal bailout of Wall Street.Obama may lack the experience I would hope to see in a presidential candidate but to quote a friend and fellow McCain supporter "Sarah Palin is an idiot and the only way she should be allowed in the White House is if she buys a tour ticket." This is not a unique sentiment given the Sarah Palin must go stance taken by conservative columnist Kathleen Parker of the Los Angeles Times. She says her cringe reflex is being exhausted.
I do not like Obama's proposals on capital gains taxes, a windfall oil profits tax, new government programs and several other issues, but the idea of Palin being second-in-command is a joke. And speaking of jokes, if I have misjudged, and McCain and Palin win the election, then Oprah will be surpassed as the wealthiest female in the entertainment industry. The new titan will be 30 Rock and former Saturday Night Live star Tina Fey who will be racking up fat paychecks based on the never ending material supplied by Palin.
I do not think she will be able to keep up with the opportunity. Here is the actual Katie Couric's interview segment with Sarah Palin. I do not think Palin is an idiot. What comes across most is that she seems unprepared and out of her league. Couric who has received her share of criticism for being out of her league as a television news anchor, comes across as much more sophisticated and prepared.
As best as I can make out certain factions in the Republican party like many of Palin's political positions (guns, abortion, taxes). Fair enough. Taking a favorable position is not the same as being qualified. Obviously it is easier to become Governor of Alaska than anyone ever imagined.
There are co-ops in New York that would be more politically challenging to manage than Alaska and some of them probably have more Russians to interface with. However, even with their "foreign relations experience" they would not be qualified to get my vote either.
Yes there are stocks that would benefit from Sarah Palin's (and McCain's) presence. These include defense, big oil, and fashion: Avon Products (NYSE: AVP), Coach Inc (NYSE: COH), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), General Dynamics Corp (NYSE: GD), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Tiffany and Co (NYSE: TIF) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)
My favorite stock if Obama is president is generic drug maker Teva Pharm Indus ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA)
One last thought. Living on the left coast in California with an actor as governor (done that before), the State is very likely to throw its electoral votes toward Obama no matter what McCain does, so maybe I'm just jaded by my surroundings. I also think McCain is a very loyal guy -- one of his admirable character traits -- so I think it would be very hard to make a change at this late date. All of us have hoped for an improvement in our economy sooner rather than later. Clearly, McCain and his advisors hoped the same for Sarah Palin. Can he overcome both Palin and the economy?
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of COP, GD, & TIF.
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
9-30-2008 @ 3:21AM
Michael said...
Imagine for a second that she has to negotiate with Putin, Chavez or even president Sarkozy. These people know their business. Are we supposed to put a nice gal in there with them for a chat? It doesn't bear thinking about. She could probably do lots of things quite well. But she is totally out of her league in the role she is trying to play (and she is playing).
Why oh why did the Republicans let Colin Powell go? He was the last qualified man on the team.
9-30-2008 @ 10:04AM
Dot said...
All this bad talking on Palin .. Watch out she is playing you all .. dumb like a fox.. She is a goveror and knows a lot more then everyone thinks.. Look who is getting all the attention.. good or bad .. she is the big news .. Here she comes ..
9-30-2008 @ 12:23PM
charlie said...
I am voting for the republicna ticket where they have the moral high ground. Ms Palin may not be as big a crook and might not be such a fast talking lier as her opponent but she is getting my vote as the "clean" canidate.
10-02-2008 @ 6:33AM
John said...
Why couldn't he pick Sen. Snow or Sen. Hutchenson, not some unkown Barbie doll Gov'r from AK. I have respect for Sen. McCain, but he has repeatedly said he is a maverick, when in actuality he has become just another politician. Wake-up John before its to late! DUMP PALIN
10-04-2008 @ 12:25PM
rjanicki said...
Does anyone remember the fact that the
Japanese invaded Alaska (Attu and Sitka
in the Aleutians) during WWII? Given the
proximity to Russia it would appear that
Alaska is at a somewhat greater risk than
the lower 48! Palin has achieved an out-
standing approval rating in her state and
has set a course for nonpartisan reform in
Alaska.
10-04-2008 @ 7:58PM
cj said...
JOHN MCCAIN..............DUMP PALIN NOW.....................................................................................................................
10-09-2008 @ 12:22PM
zeus said...
yr a moron ,,jerk,,,hey * SARAH *DUMP *
JOHN McCAIN...........
WHO WRITES THIS CRAP FOR YOU ??
THE "COMMIES"""""""""
HAVE A NICE DAY,,jerkoff !!!
CHEERS!!!
10-09-2008 @ 6:34PM
Mark said...
After the financial market has gone through the worst crisis of our era -- replacing Palin now is the only chance McCain has to offer a real option with
McCain as the internationalist and congresssional deal maker
Mr or Ms X as someone who wall street and main street look at and say -- that person can lead us out of this quagmire
10-10-2008 @ 7:14AM
A MAN said...
TO ALL YOU SECRECT RESPONCES--- WHO WILL YOU BE DIALING FOR HELP WHEN THE "ANGRY", START REVOLTING.YOU BETTER WAKE UP AND THINK ABOUT IT!I CAN DEFEND MYSELF,CAN YOU?
10-22-2008 @ 3:05PM
Beltway Greg said...
No, she along with the clothes are bought and paid for. Sheldon, got some bad news for you my man, McCain isn't a Maverick. He's a ring knocking son of an Admiral's son who finished 394 out of 399 at the academy and wrecked three jets before he got shot down. People who grow up without fear rarely develop it in old age and McCain is just a spoiled rich kid who went right when he should've gone left. I may have voted for him if he picked Romney but he just couldn't get along with Romney. Look at his actions in 2000 in South Carolina? Rove slandered him to death and still he crawled back to kiss the ring.
Beltway Greg