VP Debate: All eyes on Palin

Today's Financial News - Posted October 3, 2008

The vice-presidential debate last night was a success. Biden held his ground and Palin did not implode. Who is Wall Street voting for? The answer is obvious.

By Andrew Snyder

Baltimore – (TFN): If one more person asks my wife if she knows Sarah Palin, she is going to snap. After spending the last two years living in Alaska’s capital city, her chances of having ever seen the “magical” vice presidential candidate in person are better than the average American’s chances. Still, Palin remains elusive. After all, she only spends about fifty days in the state’s capital each year.

My sister-in-law, on the other hand, ran into Palin while shopping at a local supermarket. I will see if I can line up an exclusive interview (of the sister-in-law, of course). She did say Sarah smelled very nice.

Candidate Crush

Americans have a bit of a crush on the ultimate hockey mom. All eyes were on the Alaskan during last night’s vice presidential debate. Some pundits say the nation is infatuated with her for the same reasons we slow down at a car accident. We are just waiting to see her implode and make more hilarious Saturday Night Live fodder.

Others believe Americans like her because she is something new. Senator Biden looked like every other vice president in America’s history, a white-haired white guy wearing an expensive suit. After spending a three-decade career in Washington, his lifestyle is as far from the average American’s as one can get.

Palin’s life, on the other hand, is a lot like Joe Six-pack’s life. She has a herd of kids, one in the Army, one unwed and pregnant, and one with special needs. Her hubbie loves to fish, ride snow mobiles and has a DUI on his record. And their 401(K) was hammered just like yours and mine this week.

For Americans looking for something new, Palin is truly the lady next door. Or the one shopping for baked beans and grape jelly two aisles over.

But what does she mean for investors? The good news is she is smart, full of capitalistic integrity, and believes in a deregulated economy. The bad news is she will be eaten alive on Wall Street.

What’s next?

If McCain and Palin make it to Pennsylvania Avenue, expect more of the same. The last eight years have been filled with an indecisive blend of capitalism and socialism. And with McCain’s tendency to reach across the aisle on many economic issues, a switch to pure, unbridled capitalism is far from likely.

Palin appears to be the most financially conservative of all four candidates, but I have a feeling she looks that way because she was told to look that way. In the end, McCain and his chosen cabinet members will be in charge, not Palin with her middle-class roots.

If you are looking for economic change, then Obama and Biden (or Obiden as Palin called him) are your men.

Be prepared to take ten or fifteen percent off the valuations of almost every company trading on Wall Street if this democratic duo makes it to the White House. Scores of companies are going to scream in agony as corporate taxes soar.

None of the candidates are pushing hard to protect Wall Street. The Republicans will keep status quo. The Democrats, if they are good on their word, will do their best to punish companies for success. But they promise to make up for the pain in your portfolio by not raising your taxes to pay for their myriad of social programs.

It comes as no surprise, the next few months are going to be interesting. Not only do we have an economy ready to buckle from serious recessionary pressure, but we have elected officials ready to mettle with it all and change the rules right in the middle of the game.

It will be fun.