Barack Obama is tasking his new economic team with figuring out how to create 2.5 million new jobs in his first two years in office. As Peter Cohan commented, much of this new work will likely involve construction: building (and rebuilding) roads, bridges, schools, and wind farms, among other infrastructure-focused initiatives.

I was struck with how this news coincided with news that prices were dropping in American commodity crops -- wheat, corn and soybeans. As I was mulling this over I was chatting with a friend who's on the board of my city's farmer's market. The vendors reported that what they desperately needed was help: workers who understood their products to help sell them in the many local markets, and most of all, more farmers to grow produce and make dairy products and preserves, more farmers to raise and cure meats. And I thought of Michael Pollan, and his call for the President-Elect to encourage millions more Americans to become farmers.

Why not combine these great ideas?

I've been following the election closely for two years. For the most part, politics is a hobby of mine, but in this year's election my interest went much deeper.

I recognized very early that the 2008 vote would be monumental on so many levels and investment opportunities would abound. I even outlined the impact of the policies of each candidate on the market in an election gallery.

Now that the results are in with the Democrats taking significant control of the executive and legislative branches, I want to drill down and explore one investment idea that I believe will ascend above all the rest.

One common theme with all Democrats is that spending is sure to increase. Democrats are firmly in the Keynesian camp of using government spending to solve economic problems. We will see large government expenditures in the short term from the new administration.

Can anyone say "inflation"?

So much of the market is focused on deflation with current valuations based on the expectation of deflating prices. While it's true that the economy is slowing, I am more concerned about inflation.

Now, with a Democrat in the White House, I am convinced that the way to make money in the market is to bet on inflation. Vast sums of dollars will be printed and distributed into the economy to stabilize it. Doing so will weaken the U.S. dollar, increase interest rates and create inflationary conditions.

Front and center with inflation will be two commodity trades: gold and oil. I am not a believer in gold, so I'll stick to the oil trade. If you want to make money in the early stages of the new administration, I suggest you position your portfolio to profit from higher oil prices. That means owning oil stocks, and there are several names to consider:

Many analysts have suggested stocks that could benefit from President Obama's policies. But would it be better to find CEOs who lead people in a manner that's similar to his approach? If you believe that the president sets the tone for the rest of the country, the answer may be yes. Under a CEO who thinks of himself as the decider, investing in companies whose CEOs who lead by command-and-control might make sense.

But Obama's approach is different -- he inspires people, surrounds himself with the best, and listens to them before forming his opinions. And rather than trying to divide the world between those who agree and oppose him, Obama tries to find the center of an issue to bring along as many people as he can. I wonder whether this more self-effacing approach to leadership comes from the Midwest where patting yourself on the back is considered poor form.

Are there any CEOs who follow this approach to leadership? I can think of one -- but there may be others. James McNerney, Boeing (NYSE: BA) CEO, seems to follow the Obama approach to leadership in many respects. While McNerney may not have Obama's eloquence (and very few do), he does have an ability to put people at ease and encourages them to debate issues and find solutions to their problems instead of waiting for him to give them the answer.

Certainly, President-elect Obama has a number of highly-qualified executives who could fill the role of Secretary of the Treasury. However, in the interest of thinking 'outside the box' (that phrase always makes me think of cat-litter boxes, not wholly irrelevant), and reaching beyond the D.C. and Wall Street establishment, I thought I'd present a few candidates of my own.

1. Ed McMahon. Poor Ed really needs the work, according to Hollywood gossip. He has a great deal of experience in giving away huge sums of money thanks to his Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes gig. Can you imagine the glee on the faces of AIG executives when Ed shows up at their door with a presentation-sized check for $122 billion?

2. Willie Nelson. The country and western singer is already a large investor in the country's tax system, and probably knows more IRS personnel than Paul Volcker. And if the market keeps tanking, you can count on Willie to provide some help mellowing out nervous investors.

3. Bob Barker. Bob's out of work now, having turned over the reins of The Price is Right after 100 years. His expertise, obviously, would be in determining target prices for the market. If we reach the point that we have to choose which banks to bail out and which to allow to close, Bob (and Vanna, of course) could make the selection process much more enjoyable. "Citigroup- come on down!"

My advice? Choose what's behind curtain #1.

It was only two weeks ago I posted about one of the stocks I own and follow closely Chasing Value: Intuitive Surgical Earnings -- what now?, a company that I consider an "Obama pick". My frequent readers know that the company is one of my older investments and one that has paid off handsomely. Although Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) may still be a profitable investment at it's current level, at this point, it is well covered.

Searching for something less known, and certainly more controversial, I have the ideal Obama stock pick to add to your watchlist, StemCell Inc. (NASDA: STEM) which closed yesterday at $1.90. per share. It is not profitable, spends heavily on Research and Development and is highly speculative. So was ISRG when I got in very early.

The company profile states that STEM "discovers cell-based therapies to treat diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as cerebral palsy and Alzheimer's disease, as well as spinal cord injury. It is researching stem cell and progenitor cell (cells that have developed from stem cells) therapies to repair neural tissue damaged by disease and injury, and has discovered markers for CNS stem cells and a way to reproduce them for transplant."

What sectors are poised to outperform as a result of a Barack Obama presidency? To find out, we turn to fund expert Jim Lowell who recent prepared a report highlighting the top ETFs based on each candidate.

In The Forbes ETF Trader, he offers several top picks including ETFs that are focused on biotechnology and medical research, industrials, clean environment and clean energy technologies.

"SPDR Biotech (ASE: XBI) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index which is made up of the biotechnology sector of the S&P Total Markets Index.

"It began trading in January 2006. The top ten holdings are Genentech, Amgen, Gilead Sciences, Celgene, Genzyme, Biogen Idec, Imclone, Cephalon, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

"Vanguard Industrials (NYSE: VIS) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International US Investable Market Industrials Index.

Yesterday's election marks the end of a string of economy-destroying ideas that stretch back to 1980. America rejected the idea that it's right to run a government of the rich for the rich. It figured out that when you cut taxes for the top 1%, run record deficits, double the national debt, and eliminate regulation, you don't get trickle down, you get meltdown. Barack Obama's election means that these ideas are history.

What will replace them? Obama has already discussed economic stimulus, middle class tax cuts, mortgage modification, a moratorium on foreclosures, infrastructure spending, wider health care coverage, and investment in alternative energy.

But the 43rd president left Obama with a challenge -- to figure out the underlying problems with the current financial system and rebuild it in a way that will work in the short and longer term. Obama must come up with new ideas on which to rebuild the crumbling ruins he's inheriting.

To do that, he will create a team of experts from both parties. That team should analyze the sources of the problems that beset the economy and financial system. And it must agree on principles which can be used to craft legislation that will rebuild the financial system. As I've posted, I believe what they'll find is the need to create a system that ends securitization. limits leverage, delivers transparency, ties compensation not to deal size but to long-term profitability, and builds firewalls between markets around the world.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks are too extended to go along for the ride.

Uh oh, where it the persistent bid? Did it disappear? Is it resting? Has it gone away?

Throughout the last three weeks we have seen a persistent bid underneath the market, mostly led by Nasdaq futures, that was relentless and dropped off only once when GE (NYSE: GE) (Cramer's Take) was reported to have guided down.

No one knows who the buyer or buyers were, and because volume has been thin, the buyers had their way at the opening and then again at some exquisite marking up at the end of the day.

Everyone who has tried to fade this phalanx has been chewed up and spit out. It has been there irrespective of news flow. Many of the earnings reports in this period have been extremely disappointing -- in fact, only Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) (Cramer's Take), 3M (NYSE: MMM) (Cramer's Take), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) (Cramer's Take) and United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) (Cramer's Take) have really delivered. It has been there irrespective of more bailouts, which surely by this time would have started to produce weakness in the market, not strength.

U.S. stock futures were lower Wednesday morning, a day after a historic election saw Barack Obama elected president. But if Tuesday markets rallied, today it seems we're witnessing a "sell on the news". President-elect Obama will inherit a troubled economy and that what Wall Street is back to focusing on this morning. Some data could contribute to current sentiment as the October ADP employment numbers will be released before the opening bell and October ISM services after. weekly energy inventory data are also out for release. Oil prices declined ahead of the data to around $68.30 a barell.

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) reported an 18% growth in profits from continuing operations, and profit of 31 cents per share (excluding items), beating analyst estimates. Time Warner also lowered its outlook for full-year earning primarily because of layoffs at Time Inc. Advertising revenue at AOL as did revenue at its Warner Bros. movie division, but TWX saw growth in its cable-access and cable-network businesses.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) will both report after the close. Cisco is expected to report fiscal first-quarter earnings of 39 cents a share, News Corp., 22 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter according to Thomson Reuters.

In normal times, market analysts, pundits and economists would not be mulling over names and scuttlebutt regarding the new U.S. President's likely nominee for U.S. Treasury Secretary, months before the inauguration.

But as investors and traders know, these are not normal times, and with United States officials making their best effort to avoid a reappearance of the barter system, names are surfacing regarding who the likely Treasury nominee, should poll leader U.S. Sen. Barack Obama be elected.

The top two contenders, according to TheDeal: Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, and Lawrence Summers, Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration (1999-2001).

A second tier candidate, in economist David H. Wang's opinion, is Citigroup (NYSE: C) executive Robert Rubin, who served as Treasury Secretary during the Clinton Administration, 1995-1999.

"All three are qualified, in my view. And there are no perfect or unblemished candidates, given what the nation has gone through in the financial crisis," Wang said. "Each has an appropriate temperament and is in tune with Obama's economic philosophy, which is a mix of center-left here, center-right there, and be willing to try creative and innovative solutions when needed."

The elections are upon us with less than 24 hours before the polls open. Our current president George W. Bush has sat by as the economy went from good to bad to worse and his reputation and political standing went with it.

I have voted Republican and I have voted Democrat. I vote for the person, not the party. As the nation ponders who will be sitting in the Oval Office in 2009 I am quite confident that I am not alone. From day one I have felt that Dubya was in the White House because of dear old dad, the senior being far more qualified than junior. Junior became the front man for ideologues more intent on forcing their will upon others after a very dubious election result than all else.

From what I have seen and read, GWB has never been a great success at anything but politics, and now that reputation is toast too. While history has been kind to some past presidents allowing at least partial redemption -- Truman as direct, honest and a strong leader, Nixon on foreign policy issues, and most recently Carter as a humanitarian -- our current president has little to show for his eight years.

Crummy economic data from October ISM Manufacturing and September Construction Spending didn't manage to kill overseas gains that led to more mixed rallying in U.S. equity markets. Ahead of tomorrow's elections, it seems that the markets are just going into a holding pattern. U.S. auto sales were atrocious.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Analyst Upgrades

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) had its 27,000 union machine workers start returning to their jobs this weekend after a 57-day labor strike that shut down production of its jet manufacturing operations. The stock was up 1.3% at $53.12 in today's final minutes.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was down almost 9% at $0.30 right before the close. A class action suit was filed by a holder who has joined with over 500 shareholders to oust management and to protect holders by keeping the company from being taken private or from a reverse split.

One of the little-noticed political endorsements from last week was that of former Ronald Reagan chief of staff, Kenneth Duberstein, who broke with his party to endorse Barack Obama. Why did he do this? The far more influential, Colin Powell, helped break the ice for Duberstein. And Duberstein was clearly not thrilled with the pick of the delightfully chipper, Sarah Palin, as VP, telling MSNBC, "Even at McDonalds (NYSE: MCD), you're interviewed three times before you're given a job."

But it could be that Duberstein had a much more practical business reason for endorsing Obama -- a $35 billion contract for Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) of which he is a director. And Boeing stands to lose that contract if McCain is elected. How so? John McCain's national finance committee chair, Tom Loeffler, is a lobbyist for a French company that is competing with Boeing for the contract to build airborne refueling tankers for the Air Force. McCain's campaign received $14,000 in contributions from workers at EADS, the parent of France's Airbus, which is competing against Boeing in a joint bid with Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) for the contract.

My sources suggested that McCain was behind the process irregularities that caused the General Accounting Office (GAO) to recommend that the bidding process be canceled and the contract rebid back in June. And there's little doubt that if McCain wins tomorrow's election, he is in the tanker tank for Airbus and it will cost Boeing the contract. So could Duberstein believe that Obama is a better candidate for the country? Absolutely. And would an Obama victory be better for Boeing than for France's Airbus? Sure.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. Portfolio will publish his book about Boeing, You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing, in December 2008. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

It's been said that the grace that Joe DiMaggio, The Yankee Clipper, exhibited was so encompassing that he seemed to move before the crack of the bat, to be perfectly positioned for an outfield catch. And of course hockey's Wayne Gretzky's greatness stemmed in large part from his uncanny ability to always skate to where the puck would be, not to where it was. There are advantages to being one step ahead of the game.

JP Morgan Chase's decision to modify the terms of $70 billion in mortgages, represents as much a political calculation as an economic one, so says economist Richard Felson.

"One can interpret the action as JP Morgan thinking two steps ahead," Felson said. "From a strictly economic standpoint, it looks premature and costly. From a political standpoint, however, it looks quite prudent." JP Morgan's (NYSE: JPM) shares fell 97 cents to $40.85 in Monday morning trading.

That's because Democrats in Tuesday's U.S. election are likely to rack-up seat gains in the House and Senate. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, also leads U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, in the U.S. Presidential race. Felson said the small chance that Democrats could achieve large majorities in the House and Senate may have prompted JP Morgan "to leave before the crack of bat," from a mortgage issue standpoint.

Most major polls have U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, leading U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, in the contest for U.S. president. And, if the election were held today, instead of on Tuesday, November 4, Election Day, Obama would register a decisive victory in the all-important electoral college, as well as in the popular vote.

As of late Friday, NPR.org's survey of polls had the electoral vote at Obama, 291, McCain 163. Four battleground states are still in play: Ohio, where Obama lead by 5%; Florida, Obama by 3.5%; Indiana, McCain by 1.7%; and Missouri, McCain by about 0.5%. Concerning the national vote, on Friday, Gallup.com's daily tracking poll had Obama leading McCain, 52% to 41%.

Still, as most political aides will tell you, "the only poll that really counts is the one on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4." In other words, polls can err; that's why they have a margin of error, typically +/- 2%.

Polls only recently have become more accurate. Some notable poll mistakes include the 1980 U.S. presidential election, when some polls had incumbent President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat slightly ahead of the challenger, then Gov. Ronald Reagan, a Republican. Reagan, of course won the 1980 election in a landslide.

Pres. Truman had the last laugh on pollers

But the biggest polling error in a presidential election has to be the 1948 election between President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, and challenger Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, a Republican.

The polls predicted that Dewey would win by a large margin. They were wrong: Truman won a decisive victory, 303-189, in the electoral college.