If the polls and pundits are right (I mean correct), Barack Obama will be voted President on Tuesday.  He would follow into the Oval Office a formerly avid golfing Prez, George W., who largely gave up the game during the last seven years in deference to the troops in Iraq.  Obama certainly won't be playing much golf during his first couple of years, assuming he wins.  Just too much on his plate.
    But now that he and Bill Clinton seem to have made up, the two could play
Obama should leave his wallet in the White House if he plays golf with Clinton.

the occasional game at the Congressional Golf Club if Obama can just get that pesky little economy thing under control (and resolve two wars and catch Bin Laden).  Of course, given Clinton's reputation on the golf course, Obama might find beating him his toughest task as President.  Definitely leave your wallet back at the White House, Barack.
    According to reports, Obama is not a bad golfer.  Golf Digest wrote a story earlier this year about "golfers in Washington" and ranked Obama 123rd among legislators, lobbyists and other hangers on, but 37th among elected officials and 15th among Democrats.  He allegedly sports a 16 handicap, but that is not official or posted anywhere.  Earlier this year, during a visit to Hawaii, the candidate played a round at the Olomana Golf Course in Waimanalo and was followed by a TV news crew, which caught a couple of swings.  Click here to see it.
    A California golf instructor, Brady Riggs, saw the video report and posted an analysis of Obama's swing, at Golf.com.
     "Obama is square to the target," Riggs wrote, "with good posture and alignment. This is a well-prepared setup, the kind you'd expect from a Harvard Law School graduate. He looks ready to hit a good shot."
    After indicating Obama's backswing is "controlled and focused on avoiding mistakes...[like a] meticulously planned campaign," Riggs added that, "He's got his weight moving in the right direction and makes good contact. The funny thing is that even though he aims down the middle, his shots fly to the left."  (I know, the irony is too much for some of you, but let us not forget that John McCain is a lefty too.)  Riggs added that Obama can correct the pushes left if he "goes for the jugular" by being "more aggressive through impact."
    If elected, Obama will be the fourth lefty of the last five Presidents and join a long list of swingers in the White House.  If the subject of golfing Presidents interests you, check out the book "Presidential Lies:  The Illustrated History of White House Golf."  It has been updated to include a description of Clinton's famous two and a half gainer off Greg Norman's steps.

    I bought a new Apple laptop computer six weeks ago.  Three weeks ago, the company announced that my model had been upgraded.  I'm happy with the laptop but not happy with the instant depreciation on it and missing out on a few improvements in the newer model (I would have paid the extra $100 happily).  Then this week, I come to find that software I bought six months ago has a new improved version.  No upgrade is available; if I want the better version, I need to pay another $49.
    I am not looking for sympathy.  On the contrary, I have a perfectly
You can peddle a stock on the downside a lot quicker than you can real estate.

wonderful computer, and version 1 of the software will continue to suit my needs for years to come.  But the experience makes me think about those who bought property a few years ago for its investment potential rather than its best use, as shelter.  Those who bought a house to be a home at least have a roof over their head, even if their net worth has dropped; for most real estate investors, the floor has literally fallen away.
    Investing in residential real estate -- raw property or houses - is a dicey proposition in any market, even now in Miami or Vegas where it is tough to imagine prices could go any lower.  The stock market, over most periods of time, has been as good an investment as real estate, and certainly a lot more liquid.  You can peddle a stock on the downside in a matter of minutes, typically.  In Miami, the average wait to sell a condo is something like three years.  I admire anyone able to make money in real estate as I admire the 10% of horse players who come out ahead.
    In the spirit of full disclosure, I own three properties; I suppose that makes me look like a real estate investor.  Okay, as Woody Allen once said, "Guilty, with an explanation."  The first property is the home in which my wife and I have raised our children.  The second is a condo on the South Carolina coast bought as a vacation home nine years ago.  We use it for at least six weeks each year.  The third property is a lot, down the street from the condo, that we purchased -- gulp - at the height of the market two years ago with the intent to build in a few years.  
    Our timing could not have been worse, but we never considered the lot an investment in the strict sense; it was one of the last two properties directly on the golf course with views down the 16th fairway and out to the marsh beyond.  We either bought it then or risked never being able to have the house we wanted on the golf course in a southern community we love.  We had a lot more heart than head in the decision.  
    Woody Allen, again, once said that, "the heart wants what the heart wants."  You wouldn't think that emotion would trump the cold calculation of those investors who defied gravity and bought overpriced properties at the very top of the market.  But it did because, at the end of the day, you have as much as you started with.  Caveat emptor.