In seven months, Americans will elect a new president . . . and that event looms large in the outlook for both the economy and the industry.

One of three U.S. Senators most likely will take the White House in November: Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), or John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Irrespective of who wins the presidential race, his or her administration, on any given day, will be well positioned vis-à-vis some issues the nations transportation industry cares about, and on the next day, be positioned exactly the opposite of where the industry would want them to be.

For example, if there is a Clinton or Obama presidency, labor likely will gain a tremendous amount of influence on Capitol Hill, and that certainly would not be viewed as a good thing by most private bus operators.

Conversely, though, there might be in a Clinton or Obama presidency a little more inclination to support funding for infrastructure that might not be part of a Republican administration.

Teamsters President James Hoffa believes Sen. Obama will fight to rebuild the nations transportation infrastructure. "He will work with us to address critical issues from our ports to our highways, rails and airports. We need a president who is focused on rebuilding America and Barack Obama will be that president," says Hoffa.

Hoffa told reporters in Washington during a briefing that support for the Employee Free Choice Act, or card check, was a "litmus test" for his union. Both Clinton and Obama have pledged to back the measure, Hoffa said.

McCain not only opposes the measure but co-sponsored a bill that would eliminate voluntary card checks as a way for employees to organize.

Beyond labor issues, the election could have a profound impact on bus and truck industry safety.

"Its going to be the first time in the history of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that someone other than President Bush will appoint the administrator," said Rod Nofziger, director of government affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. "It should be interesting to see how the culture of the agency changes with a new administration, whether that new administration is Republican or Democrat."

Regardless of the election outcome, the effect on FMCSA and the Department of Transportations safety agenda figures to be the same.

"I would not be surprised if (commercial vehicle) safety was not high on the agenda of a McCain administration or whoever the Democrat is," said Dick Henderson, director of government affairs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. "I would have every reason to believe that it is going to be very high on the agenda, at the top of the agenda."

Henderson said McCains record in the Senate indicated he would elevate the importance of vehicle safety under his watch.

"Looking at Sen. McCain, for example - when he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee on highway safety - auto safety, truck safety was very high on his agenda," he said.

McCain chaired the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee from 1997 to 2001, then again from 2001 to 2003. A vocal critic of the USDOTs record at the time, he sponsored and shepherded through Congress the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, the legislation that created the FMCSA.

Given his experience on the Senate commerce committee, McCain would seem better positioned to address transportation issues immediately. From a broad standpoint, he probably knows more about transportation from his time on the committee and in the Senate. One advantage for McCain: He doesnt need to learn the language of transportation.

Though Obama and Clinton do not have McCains experience in the Senate - Obama was elected to the body in 2004 and Clinton was elected four years earlier - both have announced plans during the campaign to repair and bolster U.S. infrastructure.

"For years, we have stood by while our national infrastructure has crumbled and decayed," Obama has said. "For our economy, our safety and our workers, we have to rebuild America. Im proposing a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over 10 years. This investment will multiply into almost half a trillion dollars of additional infrastructure spending and generate nearly 2 million new jobs."

In response to the Aug. 1 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Clinton called the deterioration of the nations infrastructure "a silent crisis."

She said that as president she would "invest $10 billion over 10 years in an "Emergency Repair Fund" to begin addressing the extensive backlog of emergency infrastructure repairs.

Regardless of which senator takes the oath of office next January, it is likely that there would be a strong emphasis on safety, certainly with a Democratic president, especially assuming the Democrats retain control of Congress. And the impact of that would be felt right away in the 2009 reauthorization of the federal highway and transit legislation.

The congressional elections are another piece of the 2009 political puzzle.

With all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats up in the Senate, the landscape for the next president could be vastly different from what it is now - Democrats enjoy a 51-49 majority, thanks to two independent senators and a 233-202 edge in the House.

If the Republicans maintain a pretty firm position in terms of their numbers in the Senate, that could impede legislation and make it difficult for a president, especially if its a Democratic president, to sort of have their way with the Congress, and many see that as being good for the transportation industry.

But, if Republican numbers slip any more in the Senate, the industry could be at greater jeopardy.