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by GLEN JOHNSON,
Associated Press Writer
6/23/08
FRESNO, Calif. -
A top adviser to John McCain said another
terrorist attack on U.S. soil would be a "big advantage" for the
Republican presidential candidate, drawing a
sharp rebuke Monday from both the presumed GOP nominee and Democrat
Barack Obama.
Charlie Black,
already in the spotlight for his past lobbying work, is quoted in the
upcoming July 7 edition of Fortune magazine as saying such an attack
"certainly would be a big advantage to him." Black said Monday he
regretted the comment.
Black is also
quoted as saying the "unfortunate event" of the assassination of former
Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 "helped us."
Questioned about
Black's comments during a news conference, McCain said, "I cannot
imagine why he would say it. It's not true. I've worked tirelessly since
9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America. My
record is very clear."
Citing his work to
establish a commission to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks and his membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee,
McCain added: "I cannot imagine it, and so, if he said that — and I
don't know the context — I strenuously disagree."
Obama spokesman Bill
Burton said in a statement: "The fact that John McCain's top adviser
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-Qaida."
The remarks caught
McCain flat-footed on a day when he focused on energy issues — first in
a speech, then at a town-hall meeting and then during a news conference
as he stood beside two $100,000 electric cars. McCain offered $300
million to anyone who develops a revolutionary automobile battery, and
he predicted such incentives would lower alternative energy costs.
Moments later, he
was befuddled when reporters asked about Black's comments. Black was
similarly surprised when reporters happened upon him outside a later
McCain fundraiser.
Speaking quietly,
Black read from handwritten notes. "I deeply regret the comments. They
were inappropriate. I recognize that John McCain has devoted his entire
adult life to protecting his country and placing its security before
every other consideration," Black said.
Black repeatedly has
argued that McCain — a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war who
has traveled the globe while serving in Congress — benefits any time
national security matters are the news of the day. By contrast, Obama
has less than four years experience in the Senate and has paid only one
visit to Iraq. He plans a second trip before the November election.
During the 2004
presidential race, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other
Republicans argued that Democratic nominee John Kerry was soft on
terrorism; the argument resonated with voters. The GOP also questioned
the Democrats' record on national security in 2002, with White House
political adviser Karl Rove saying Republicans should not shy away from
citing terrorism concerns as a reason to vote for their party.
The approach also
paid dividends at the polls during that year's congressional elections.
The GOP line — that
Democrats had a pre-Sept. 11 mind-set — failed in the 2006 midterm
elections as Democrats wrested control of Congress from the Republicans.
More recently,
former White House press secretary Scott McClellan wrote in a memoir
that during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bush and his team
tried to make the weapons of mass destruction "threat and the Iraqi
connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain, a little less
questionable than they were."
For his part, McCain
has tried to portray Obama as naive on national security and foreign
policy.
On Monday, McCain
told reporters he was stunned that Obama has never been briefed by Gen.
David Petraeus, who is leading U.S. forces in Iraq, yet Obama is calling
for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
"Remarkable how
someone can make an assessment of the situation without asking for a
briefing from the commanding general," McCain said.
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