BallotVox

Terror Helps McCain?

Foot in mouth [g-hat / Flickr]

So Charlie Black, political advisor to McCain, recently said, rather impolitically, that a terror attack in the US would boost McCain in the campaign. This isn’t a reaction roundup; just two snippets.

Damian J. Penny, blogging from Halifax, Nova Scotia, questions whether there’s any logic to Black’s remark:

The comment would be offensive and tone-deaf even if it were true. But why do people - on the left and the right - assume a terror attack on American soil would help the Republican Party, anyway?

That supposedly goes without saying. But a key pro-Bush talking point is that, regardless of what happens in Iraq or Afghanistan, at least there haven’t been any major attacks […] in the United States since 9/11. If the Republican candidate can’t argue that, what’s left?

South Dakota moderate Bob Schwartz (”trying to see purple through all the red”) sees Black’s comment as a Bushlike tactic (thanks, Sue Salinger):

In the past whenever George Bush would want an increase in power to supposedly “keep us safe” or if a mid-term election was in doubt, he would bring out the terrorism card. Either an attack was imminent or if “so and so” were elected we’d be in trouble. John McCain’s camp must have been paying attention and is now admitting that the such an attack would be beneficial, for McCain that is […]

The terrorism card is about all McCain has to play and he and his advisor’s will surely put it to use as often as Rudy Giuliani played the 9/11 card if not more often.

That 9/11 card didn’t turn out to be the winning one.