McCain's Top Advisor Sees Political "Advantage" In Terror Attack

It's become common for Democrats and lefties to worry about what would happen if the U.S. were hit by a terror attack right before an election. Would it drive more voters to the Republicans, or would it remind voters that Bush's policies haven't made us safer? It's really a crap shoot. Obviously, if you look at how the Bush administration exploited terror alerts leading up to the 2004 election, you can see what they think of such a scenario. In their minds, Fear = Good For Republicans.

But they don't usually come out and say it. Or at least, the top campaign advisors for presidential candidates don't usually come out and say it. It just doesn't look good:

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an "unfortunate event," says [McCain Chief Advisor Charlie] Black. "But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us." As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. "Certainly it would be a big advantage to him," says Black.

If Samantha Powers can get fired for calling Hillary Clinton a "monster", then Charlie Black's statement is definitely fire-able material. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him resign this week, although McCain might hold onto him to avoid any appearance of weakness.

Here is McCain's reaction to Black's repulsive utterance:



It's not good when you say something so terrible, your own boss has a tough time believing that you said it. Reminds me of when Hillary Clinton's top supporters didn't believe she said the "hard working Americans, white Americans" comment until they actually heard it.

Charlie Black has admitted to making the statement, and has apologized. The Obama camp came out with this statement:

Barack Obama welcomes a debate about terrorism with John McCain, who has fully supported the Bush policies that have taken our eye off of al Qaeda, failed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, and made us less safe. The fact that John McCain's top advisor says that a terrorist attack on American soil would be a 'big advantage' for their political campaign is a complete disgrace, and is exactly the kind of politics that needs to change. Barack Obama will turn the page on these failed policies and this cynical and divisive brand of politics so that we can unite this nation around a common purpose to finish the fight against al Qaeda.

"Complete disgrace" is right. But what I found most interesting is that they didn't call for Black to be fired. I think this is a very shrewd move by the Obama camp. If the Obama campaign doesn't pressure McCain to fire Charlie Black, then Black will probably survive. Yet he will remain a festering sore on the McCain campaign through election day. The last thing Obama wants is for McCain to hire a chief strategist who isn't so scandal-prone. MoveOn has already made one hard-hitting ad about Black:



Black is the Mark Penn of the McCain campaign. If he stays, you better believe the DNC will run ads hitting him for this "big advantage" comment in September and October. Charlie Black has all sorts of other skeletons in his closet from his lobbyist work, making him a good punching bag down the road. And if, God forbid, there IS a terrorist attack before the election, it will be harder for McCain to capitalize on it if his own chief strategist was quoted hoping for such an attack.

All in all, yet another major headache for the McCain campaign. If they are smart, they fire Charlie Black this week. If they are stubborn, they'll keep him on and suffer the consequences down the road.