If presidential candidates were stocks

Slate magazine has an entertaining article that discusses what would happen if we started treating presidential candidates as stocks. Here are some gems from the article:

• Hillary Clinton: General Electric
  "Like GE, HRC is a mega-cap blue-chip, a juggernaut of the 1990s that, while still a market leader, doesn't enjoy the cachet it once did. ..."
• John Edwards: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
  "... Both phenomena peaked in 2004 and have since struggled to connect with customers. ..."
• Rudy Giuliani: Halliburton
  "... Events triggered by Sept. 11, 2001, led to swift rise in prominence and profitability. ..."
• John McCain: General Motors
  "Two old warhorses that have solid reputations as patriotic brands but are struggling to hold on to shrinking market share. ..."
• Mitt Romney: Citigroup
  "... Transparently lame re-branding efforts: ..."

And last, but not the least:

• Barack Obama: Google
  "Both have posted astonishing growth since splashy initial public offerings in 2004 and have become darlings of Silicon Valley. ..."

Talk about caricatures!

Thanks to this Google Blogoscoped blog entry for the pointer.