Analysts: Mac Win Likely to Hit Defense Firms Harder

The defense industry is generally wary of Democratic wins, but this time around it's a Republican victory that may give military industries—and their investors—a complex, MarketWatch reports. A President Obama would be unlikely to give critics of his foreign policy cred ammunition by slashing defense spending, analysts say, while John McCain has the clout and the Washington know-how to puncture bloated military budgets.

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"McCain brings the Nixon-went-to-China approach," says one expert. "He has conservative, big-defense credentials and the political experience to take surprising actions." Whoever wins will have to balance a federal budget buckling under record amounts of debt racked up by the previous administration—currently $9.5 trillion. Both candidates have vowed to cut defense bills through smarter spending while boosting troop numbers. (Read more military spending stories.)