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8:30 AM EST, Tuesday, November 4, 2008: Election Day. Please vote today. This may be the most important election of modern times. It's also among the more divisive -- causing friends and families to squabble. Hence I will now lose readers when I admit that I'm in Mountain Top. PA getting the vote out for Obama. I made my decision for him for five reasons:

1. I want out of Iraq and Afghanistan ASAP. I'm guessing I have a greater shot with Obama. I don't think "winning with honor" is possible any longer. I want out. I remember our own history. We kicked the British out. No nation wants another nation occupying it.

2. I get the strong impression that John McCain will say anything to become president. I no longer trust most of his words. I remember when he told one of those TV debates that he knew how to get Osama bin Laden. And I thought, "So, why haven't you told anyone?" Osama is, after all, the U.S.'s most wanted fugitive.

3. I think Obama is a lot brighter than McCain. Academic records show that. And the masterful way Obama has run his campaign shows he's got great organizational skills.

4. I think McCain lacks judgment. The story that gets me most is his flying into Vietnam. His plane is locked on by a surface-to-air missile. Instead of maneuvering to avoid the incoming missile -- which his plane is equipped to do -- he chooses to complete the mission, i.e. bomb the target. He predictably gets shot down and spends the next years in captivity. I also am not impressed with his choice of Sara Palin, who is, in my judgment, not equipped to be President of the U.S. -- a strong likelhood, given McCain's age.

5. The stockmarket performs far better under a Democratic administration. I published those research results in a previous column. The numbers are persuasive.

I'm sure many of you will disagree with me. Please don't send me hate emails. It will all be over by tonight. Please remember this column is about investing. It's only about politics as they impinge on the economy, which they do in a major way. See Reasons 1and 5.

A place to put your cash? This one I'm mulling. But the Lehman MBS Bond Fund (MBB) has a 5% dividend yield and invests in only triple A rated Federal Government stuff -- the investment grade agency mortgage-backed securities sector of the United States as defined by the Lehman Brothers U.S. MBS Index. MBB's "downside" is that it trades and hence fluctuates in price. But it fluctuates in a narrow range. And it seems to me that even if you lose a little capital, you'll make it up through the high dividend yield.

What yuchy stuff is happening to book retailing: I sell my dictionary (see picture on left) via a wholesaler to retailer Borders. They have been losing vast gobs of money -- over $140 million in the last four quarters. My wholesaler has prudently bought insurance on all the monies Borders owes it. Sadly, that insurance has now been canceled.

General Motors' sales were down 45% and Ford's were down 30% in October. The recession is turning serious and severe. As one industry craters after another, this cannot be good for the stockmarket. Cash is king.

Will Rogers on politicians
Mr. Rogers was the greatest political sage this country has ever known.

He once quipped, "We have the best politicians money can buy."

This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads on this site. Thus I cannot endorse, though some look interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. Please note I'm not suggesting you do. That money, if there is any, may help pay Michael's business school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.