Neither Will Be Able To Do Much Until 2010 Anyway

If you have a stake in the defense industry, and have wondered which US Presidential candidate would be better for your business... some defense analysts are saying you may as well toss a coin.

Democrat Senator Barack Obama has promised defense spending cuts; his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, brags of killing the first Boeing contract for a new Air Force aerial tanker... but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that neither has spelled out what his defense policy will be.

Loren Thompson, an analyst with the Lexington Institute, is close to government and military leaders and a consultant to Lockheed Martin. For all the differences between the two candidates on matters such as the economy or health care, when it comes to defense spending Thompson observes, "They actually agree on almost everything."

Steve Kosiak, a defense-budget expert with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, goes so far as to say that despite the stereotypes, "If you look historically, there's some reason to think there won't be that big of differences."

Richard Danzig, a top Obama advisor on national security, was recently quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying he, "...doesn't see defense spending declining in the first years of an Obama administration."

The 2009 defense budget just passed by Congress totals $515 billion, not including costs for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. That budget is already in place, but some other matters have already been back-burnered to see who wins the election and what overall policies will emerge.

One example is a 2009 budget line that can be used either to buy parts for more F-22s or pay for shutting down the production line. The Pentagon and Congress have agreed to leave that decision to the next administration.

FMI: www.defenselink.mil