Obama: Energy and Healthcare

Highlighted stocks include: Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Analyst Report), Arch Coal (ACI - Analyst Report), Edison International (EIX - Analyst Report), EOG Resources (EOG - Analyst Report), Exxon (XOM - Analyst Report) and Humana (HUM - Analyst Report).

President-Elect Obama has previously said that his top priorities are energy and healthcare. The U.S. has long needed policies that provide long-term solutions to both issues. And neither Democratic nor Republican administrations have instituted real change on either issue.

Will President-Elect Obama match the expectations of his landslide victory? Only time will tell.

In the near-term, however, there will be warnings about traditional energy companies and pharmaceutical companies. Investors would be prudent not to overreact to those warnings. Even if change is coming, it will take a long while before it gets here. And once change does arrive, the major players could likely continue to play a significant role.

Energy is reliant on infrastructure. Even if a breakthrough on renewable energy were developed tomorrow, it would take years before the country could switch. The U.S. operates on a power grid that is comprised of pipelines, wires, refineries and power plants. And everything that we use, from our cars to our iPods, is designed to work based on this power grid.

Not to mention the logistics of designing new products. Car manufacturers, such as General Motors (GM - Analyst Report), can't simply retool their plants overnight.

Furthermore, the rest of the world operates on a combination of oil, natural gas and coal. Simply put, even with a breakthrough energy policy, many energy-related companies should be profitable for years to come, including Exxon Mobil (XOM - Analyst Report) - drilling and distribution, EOG Resources (EOG - Analyst Report) - natural gas, Arch Coal (ACI - Analyst Report) - clean coal, and Edison International (EIX - Analyst Report) - electric power.

Healthcare will be a major battle. There are too many players with high-powered lobbyists to allow true change to occur without a fight. And even if the U.S. moves towards national health care, much of the existing system could be kept in place. Switzerland has universal coverage AND powerful insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

In other words, companies like Humana (HUM - Analyst Report) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Analyst Report) are very likely to have profitable futures long after President-Elect Obama leaves the White House.

The expectations for President-Elect Obama are high and I truly hope that he lives up to them. But as an investor, I also need to be pragmatic. Change might be coming, but that doesn't mean some things won't stay the same.

Charles Rotblut, CFA is the Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

(For additional information about the impact of Obama's victory, be sure to read the special report 5 Stocks to Own if Obama Wins.)

Read the full analyst report on GM.

Read the full analyst report on ABT.

Read the full analyst report on ACI.

Read the full analyst report on EIX.

Read the full analyst report on HUM.

Read the full analyst report on XOM.

Read the full analyst report on ABT

Read the full analyst report on GM

Read the full analyst report on ACI

Read the full analyst report on EIX

Read the full analyst report on EOG

Read the full analyst report on XOM

Read the full analyst report on HUM