Chris B

8 Stocks to Buy if McCain Wins

Socialism,

Good point about the uncertainty of a McCain war against Iran. So far that's only one of his campaign promises, and as we all know candidates often break campaign promises. Nonetheless, the year over year prices of commodities are pricing in the geopolitical risk of these threats. These high prices benefit many of McCain's contributors in the commodities industries, so perhaps if he can get away with inflating commodities prices through war-talk, he migh take that route.

As for the probability that Obama would do the same, you say either party will attack Iran, but that Democrats are all appeasing pacifists. Well, which way is it? And are/were the dictator of Pakistan and the dictator of Saudi Arabia also fascist leaders of Muslim states?

Russia:
People are still arguing over exactly who or what started WW1, but the core reason was a network of alliances that made entire groups of nations responsible for fighting someone else's inevitable local ethnic skirmishes. The expansion of NATO forcefully argued for by McCain might make it necessary for American soldiers to die taking a side in some ethnic/tribal spat in someplace we've never heard of - such as Ossetia. Would you sign up to die in a war because some ethnic group X in Eurasia wants to dominate ethnic group Y? Is that really defending America?

Other points:
Obama's tax cut plan benefits the middle class more than McCain's. Research it. Also, if borrow-and-spend results in high inflation, isn't high inflation a cost just like taxation?

Globalism and free trade treaties have always been argued for more strongly by Republicans than Democrats. Trust me, the UAW is not arguing for most-favored-nation status for China so Chery or Geely can dump cheap cars on our markets.

The Republican Bush administration has in 8 year socialized several companies and industries, multiplying the federal payroll. Did you hear about Bear Sterns, Fannie & Freddie? The airport security industry? Did you hear the rhetoric and not the news?

8 Stocks to Buy if McCain Wins

Despite what you may have heard on talk radio, offshore drilling will be expanded regardless of who wins the presidency or in Congress. Populist pressure to "do something" to lower gas prices is already unresistable, even though the politicians know there's not enough oil out there to make a difference in world markets. The oilfield services companies mentioned might be worth looking at anyway, if valuations are reasonable.

The nuclear option supposes that either (a) laws or economics will force coal plants to shut down and be replaced with nukes, or (b) electricity demand will skyrocket due to electric cars. Those are big if's. Republicans are staunchly pro-coal and there is no reason to believe there is a shortage. On the second "if", Americans could just commute to work in smaller cars and cut their gas bill in half if we wanted to (15 mpg Tahoe >> 30 mpg Camry, 20 mpg truck >> 40 mpg Civic). The current fleet of fuel hogs from the first half of the decade will be obsolete in 5 years, but $80k rare-earth-battery-car... still won't be economic.

What McCain will do is start wars. Expect an attack on Iran that will send oil skyrocketing. Expect a cold war with Russia (and perhaps a hot one if Georgia and Ukraine are allowed into NATO). Expect Iraq and Afghanistan to continue to suck money as in the Bush years.

These wars will greatly increase the prices of oil, precious metals, and defense industry stocks, while resulting in a great devaluation of the dollar. More of the same with a McCain presidency.