Charlie Black, chief strategist for John McCain, made some surprisingly frank comments in an interview with Fortune Magazine, surprising only in the fact that someone in the McCain campaign would openly say what they are thinking. Mr. Black referred to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as an “unfortunate event” but acknowledged that “it helped us” referring to the timing of the assassination coinciding with the New Hampshire primary. He also said of a future terrorist attack; “Certainly it would be a big advantage to him (McCain).”

McCain denounced Black’s comments saying, “its not true.” Black also apologized for his remarks, saying he “deeply regrets the comments” and calling them “inappropriate.”

Sounds like a big dose of CYA to me. The only thing “inappropriate” to Mr. Black and Sen. McCain is that Black actually said these things out loud. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that McCain’s campaign is built on one theme and one theme only–national security. It is to scare the American people into thinking that Barack Obama is too inexperienced to deal with what might happen, and that McCain would be the steady hand at the wheel.

This wasn’t an impulsive sound bite. It was part of a reasoned, reviewed and edited magazine article.

Let’s face it, he didn’t say anything outside our already existing concerns about the politics of fear that have become the hallmark of neocon politics.

Thanks, K B