Hot Topics - Election Campaign 2008: Jackson Library: Stanford GSB<

Hot Topics: Election Campaign 2008

An election year always impacts Wall Street and the business world. This year with the Iraqi war dragging on and rising national debt, soaring healthcare costs and millions of Baby Boomers retiring what impact will national elections have on the economy? The articles below focus on the economic issues and how they impact U.S. elections.

Selected articles

Due to contractual arrangements, access to some articles may be restricted to the Stanford community, and subscribers of the "Library Databases" offered through the GSB Alumni's Lifelong Learning Program. Inclusion below does not imply University endorsement of the ideas expressed.

U.S. Stock Bulls Best Served By Democratic Victory Bloomberg.com 10/29
Since 1900, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.8 percent in the 12 months after the Democratic Party captured the White House, based on the median change following the election of seven Democrats from Woodrow Wilson to Bill Clinton. Only twice did the average decline, after Wilson's victory in 1912 and Jimmy Carter's in 1976. View article

Economy Casts Shadow Over Local Ballot Measures
WSJ.com 10/27
Pocketbook Issues, From Bond Initiatives to Energy Taxes, Will Be Decided by Voters Intent on Imposing Some Belt-Tightening. State ballot initiatives can't do much to address the Wall Street financial crisis, but its continuing economic fallout is bound to affect how angry voters decide scores of local issues on Election Day. View article

Obama, McCain Attack Each Other On Economy Reuters 10/27
Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama Monday attacked each other's economic plans as wrong for the current downturn as they launched an eight-day sprint to Election Day.
View article

Economy Is Voters’ Top Worry, but Agreement Stops There
NYT, 10/25
With just a few weeks to go before the presidential election, voters from wealthy suburban enclaves in Fairfield County to urban neighborhoods in Hartford expressed similar concerns about the deteriorating economy, but distinctly different views on whom to support on Election Day.
View article

US Election: Ohio Will Vote On Cash, Not Colour Telegraph 10/25
Ohio is the state on which the last US election turned. On the road there, Sir Trevor McDonald finds that race still matters – but he believes that the economy will matter more. View article

Obama Grabs Big Lead in Three Swing States: Poll
MarketWatch, 10/01
The economic crisis and a well-received debate performance have given presidential candidate Barack Obama a sizable lead in the three critical swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, according to a new poll Wednesday. View article

Economy Stealing Election Spotlight NPR, 9/29
Barack Obama and John McCain met face-to-face Friday in a debate in Oxford, Miss. The Wall Street financial crisis dominated the first part of the discussion, while foreign policy was the focus in the second half. The financial crisis has changed the dynamic of the presidential election.
Listen Now

Advisers for Obama, McCain Offer Views at Economic Policy Talk Stanford Report 09/26
With John McCain and Barack Obama throwing political punches over how to deal with the country's financial crisis, you might think a face-off between a pair of their economic advisers would get ugly. View article

5 More Reasons This Election Matters Entrepreneur.com, 9/17
Barack Obama and John McCain gave us their positions on issues relevant to small business. Here's where they stand on other important issues. View article

Obama Hasn't Sold Voters Yet On Economic Issues MarketWatch, 8/26
Voters say the economy is their biggest worry this election year, and they want answers from Democrats and Republicans about what they'd do to restore the American Dream. View article

Obama's Amazing Penny Machine Stanford Business, 8/08
Last October, some of the wealthiest supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama started losing faith. He was slipping in the national polls, and Hillary Clinton was winning the money race. Gathered in a meeting hall in Iowa, the big backers questioned the campaign’s strategy, its funding, its very viability. View article

It's the Economy Again Stupid The Economist 7/24/08
John McCain and Barack Obama are offering profoundly different prescriptions, though economic and political realities will limit their ambitions. View article

McCain and Obama Trade Jabs Over Economic Strategies KQED, 6/10/08
Presumptive presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain offered contrasting approaches to mend a sluggish economy this week, with Obama emphasizing an active government role in providing assistance and McCain calling for lower taxes and spending cuts.
View article

Game on: McCain v. Obama on economy CNNMoney, 6/4/08
Barack Obama's emergence as the presumptive Democratic nominee on Tuesday sets the stage for a sharp partisan debate over the issue weighing most heavily on voters: the economy. View article

The Recession Weapon Bloomberg Markets, 4/08
Wall Street economists say a recession is likely this year. Does that mean the Democrats, no matter who runs against the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, will win the White House in November?
View article

It’s an Election, Not a Revolution New York Times, 2/17/08
This election is certainly important. But based on the historical record, it isn’t likely to result in a major swing in economic policy. Fundamentally, democracy is not a finely tuned mechanism that can be used to direct economic policy as a lever might lift a pulley. The connection between what voters want, or think they want, and what ultimately happens in the economy, is far less direct.
View article

The Economy and the US Election Financial Times, 2/10
The stalling economy has been the chief concern of US voters for several months. Even so, the debate about how best to address the issue has not been fully joined. With nominees undecided, the choice for voters is still which Democrat and which Republican. Within the parties there is little disagreement about economics. View article

2008 Election Issues: Economy NPR, 2/4/08
Last fall, as the subprime housing crisis intensified, the economy replaced the war in Iraq as the top concern for Americans. It's quite possible that the economy will remain the top issue until until the general election in November. That's because the bad debts generated by the subprime debacle have caused a credit crunch that, along with record high energy prices, appears to be dragging the U.S. economy into recession. There are even fears of a global downturn.
View article

Election-Year Economic Ratings Lowest Since '92 PEW Research Center, 1/24/08
With the economy slowing and the stock market reeling, there is greater agreement among Republicans and Democrats that strengthening the nation's economy should be a top priority for the president and Congress in the coming year. By contrast, partisan differences over the importance of other domestic issues have all increased substantially over the past year.
View article

U.S. Economy Grows as Election Issue Marketplace, 1/16/08
New York Times economics columnist David Leonhardt says candidates would be well-advised to pay close attention to the economy in this year's elections -- especially if they want to connect with the American middle class. He talks with host Bob Moon.
Read the interview

Executive Power Reaches a Limit at the Economy New York Times, 7/21/07
It’s not the economy. That may sound like an unusual way to begin an every-other-week column on economics and politics, but this is a pretty unusual election.
View article

How to Make Money on the 2008 Campaign Real Money, 6/29/07
If the current election is anything like the last two presidential elections, there will be plenty of excitement for political junkies, and there is much at stake for investors.
View article

A Blueprint for National Prosperity: What the 2008 Election Should be About...and How to Make it Happen Brookings Council, 5/23/07
We stand on the eve of a remarkable juncture in American history, the first presidential election since 1952 when no incumbent president or vice president will run as the nominee for either party.
View article

Candidates' Quest for a Machiavellian Economist
Wanted: Policy wonks with a winning aura; must be savvy in cutthroat circles Market Watch, 4/27/07
In an election year that got started far earlier than ever before, each of the candidates has carefully selected economic advisers in search of the perfect mix of shrewdness and expertise.
View article

Obama Is Google. McCain Is GM Slate, 4/21/07
Here's Slate's handy guide for political investors, identifying which prominent stocks the top presidential candidates most closely resemble.
View article

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