MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - There is no radical difference for Russia as to who will win the 2008 presidential elections in the U.S., but John McCain would be the worst-case scenario, said Sergei Markov, a State Duma deputy and director of the Institute of Political Research.

"A Democrats' victory would indicate the abandonment of the mad policy of the country leader's putting all money not into education, the social sector, or the development of peaceful trends on the planet but into the effort to beat the entire planet in terms of military might," Markov told Interfax on Wednesday.

The U.S. presidential candidates differ in that they represent absolutely different trends in American politics, he said.

"The U.S. and Russian political analysts wonder why McCain hates Russia so much. There are different assumptions here. Some believe he cannot come over his wounds suffered in Vietnam, for which he blames the Soviet Union. McCain is the last Cold War warrior. Despite the fact that neither the USSR nor this war exist any longer, he is continuing it," Markov said.

"As regards Hillary Clinton, this is a slightly less dramatic option for Russia, because, while she criticizes Russia as well, she does this more pragmatically and coherently," Markov said.

However, "in case of Hillary Clinton's victory, the U.S. Department of State will fall into the hands of the people who earlier bombed Belgrade," he said.

"Barack Obama is the most preferable option for us. First, his coming to power would mean a turnaround in the American foreign policy and closer links between the U.S. and the EU. Obama implies renewal of the entire American politics and hopes for the future, no matter how illusory they might me," Markov said.