McCain strategist: Terrorist attack ‘would be a big advantage’ in election

As part of a series on “The candidates and your money,” Fortune Magazine asked Senator John McCain what he perceived as the single greatest economic threat to the United States. McCain’s reply, after several seconds of staring “into the void,” was “radical Islamic extremism.”

According to top McCain strategist Charlie Black, this response was no error. National security is McCain’s winning answer, no matter what the question.

For example, Black told Fortune that even though the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto last December was an “unfortunate event,” it was useful to McCain in the New Hampshire primary, because “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.”

The Fortune interviewer goes on to say that “Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue” that McCain would also be helped by “another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. ‘Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,’ says Black.”

Washington Monthly’s Kevin Drum was scathing in his comments on McCain’s response. “It’s as if McCain is trying to become a parody of himself here,” writes Drum. “Is his answer to every question ‘Islamic extremism’? … Two things are remarkable here. First, that McCain genuinely seems to believe that Islamic extremism poses not just a threat, but a threat to the very existence of the West. This is science fiction territory. Second, that he apparently can’t come up with any better answer to Fortune’s question about economic threats.”

“It’s been pretty obvious for a while that McCain is going to try and turn the entire election into a referendum on national security, painting Obama as a 21st century Neville Chamberlain,” Drum concludes. “This seems like an early sign of just how far he’s planning to take this.”

For his part, Sen. McCain later expressed his disapproval of Black’s comments, saying, “If he said that — and I do not know the context — I strenuously disagree. … I cannot imagine why he would say it. It’s not true.”

UPDATE: CNN’s Jack Cafferty picked up Black’s exchange for his daily question to viewers.

“Should McCain adviser Charlie Black be fired for saying a terrorist attack would help McCain’s chances?” he asked. Answers will be read on air during the Situation Room, which airs at 4 p.m.

This video is from CNN’s Situation Room, broadcast June 23, 2008.