Politically Purple

Yesterday, a quote attributed to John McCain’s senior Advisor Charlie Black came out where he says that a Terrorist attack on US soil would definitely help McCain.  Here is the full quote:

 We saw how that might play out early in the campaign, when one good scare, one timely reminder of the chaos lurking in the world, probably saved McCain in New Hampshire, a state he had to win to save his candidacy - this according to McCain’s chief strategist, Charlie Black. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an “unfortunate event,” says 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. (link)

The McCain campaign quickly sent out released distancing itself from the quote, followed up by an apology by Black himself for the quote, saying:

“I deeply regret the comments — they were inappropriate,” Black said outside a McCain fundraiser in Fresno, Calif. today.  ” I recognize that John McCain had devoted his entire life to protecting his country and placing its security before every other consideration.” (link)

The comment was made to Fortune 500, and it is odd that, a magazine with a focus on the financial, on the economy, and the article was basically an overview of McCain Economic agenda, and it starts off with a comment about terrorist attacks. In reviewing the article, it almost seemed clumsy how they tried to tie National Security to the Economy, and while there is truth in the assesment that the economy is a national security issue, it just seemed out of place, and whether it was the McCain campaign that made that distinction or Fortune 500, I am unsure.

What is interesting however is the reaction the McCain camp made. It seemed rehearsed, timely, and coordinated. Fortune 500 has been developing this start for two weeks at the most, and Black is well beyond the stage of making freshman mistakes. The McCain camp knew this was coming, and I wonder, intentionally made the quote to cause a stir.

McCain’s perceived strength is national security.  Despite his gaffes with Sunni/Shia mix-ups and other mis-spoken remarks, he has been able to keep the veneer of a national security candidate. Any opportunity to change the discussion to national security helps him. This comment, about a terroritst attack helping McCain is the truth. The sin in this case was it was spoken out loud… and officially by a member of the campaign.

If there was a Terrorist attack on this nation this election season, it would fundamentally change the way the election would come out. No longer would oil prices, the housing market, the economy, or other domestic issues dominate the race. The new focus would be the attack, and what should America do. Obama is considered weaker on national security, and any effort he would make to pin the blame (rightfully) on the Bush Administration would be seen as politically expedient… especially after him tying Bush and McCain together for months on end. Obama would be in the position of being the leading voice of blame, and try to instill confidence in how he would react to the situation. The election campaign would stop, and in that vacuum, McCain would benefit.

The Obama campaign has started hitting back, and it is not surprising they are doing so. However, this seems to be exactly what the McCain camp wants, sifting the discussion to national security… another week where the focus is not on McCain never operating a computer, or his weaker stances on the Economy (self professed at that).