My latest big bet: Doughnuts on Obama

Posted Oct 23rd 2008 2:27PM by Sheldon Liber
Filed under: Rants and Raves, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), Politics, Headline News, Comic Relief

The clock is ticking and the pollsters are bouncing around faster than ever with varying results. My latest wager was not on a stock, but a box of 24 doughnuts with a friend who thinks McCain will win the election.

Given the post-Palin slide of the McCain campaign we have been hearing about for the past six weeks, I thought this was a sure thing. Then we learn -- not so fast folks! -- things can change.

Presidential Race Tightens, AP Poll Says Wow, I'll say, they can change. Is this a case of "better the devil we know than the angel we don't"? Although many voters have a throw the bums out mentality, putting Republicans out of favor for the moment, in times of crises perhaps people are rethinking whether they would not prefer the familiar to the enchanting.

This seems to be the election of the enchanted so far. Barack Obama and John McCain were underdogs at the beginning of the presidential primaries but have withstood their critics harshest blows and came out on top.

It's still a race with various polls indicating a narrowing of voter sentiment between the candidates, and in the latest it seems the gap is now less than the acknowledged margin of error. I have watched the value of my stock portfolio go down, my home value go down and now, all of a sudden, I may be out 24 doughnuts too! Are there no more safe bets?

If McCain can make another comeback, as he has done many times before, then perhaps even a downtrodden stock like Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) down from $45 to yesterday's price of $2.39, can too. Maybe a recession is just what KKD needs to make a comeback.

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 do not own any shares of KKD and never have.

Tags: doughnuts, election, election polling, ElectionPolling, featured, KKD, McCain, Obama, presidential, Sheldon Liber, SheldonLiber

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-23-2008 @ 3:08PM

km502 said...

Try visiting fivethirtyeight.com for all the reasons why that AP poll isn't to be trusted. Obama opened up an 11 point lead in the latest Washington Post poll. Your doughnuts are likely safe.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/2008/10/this_race_goes_to_11.html?hpid=topnews