But no, it wasn’t a Democrat, it was John McCain’s already controversial advisor, Charlie Black:
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."
I last wrote about Charlie Black in this post. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that Charlie Black lies awake at night praying for another terrorist attack on the homeland; his lobbying clients have included Blackwater USA and Ahmed Chalabi --both of which profited really well after the last terror attack on America, no?
And then Josh Marshall uncovered this interesting tidbit about Mr. Black from 2005:
As we know now from the LATimes and the NYTimes, the Pentagon is paying an outfit called the Lincoln Group to plant phony stories in the Iraqi press about just how well things are going in Iraq.
[...]
But while the DOD is hiring the Lincoln Group, the Lincoln is subcontracting the work to BKSH, the PR firm run by Republican uber-operative and spinmeister Charlie Black.
Oh, sweet! John McCain hired an expert in planting phony stories in the press to advise his campaign.
Good to know.
Now, a word to our media elites: look deep into your hearts and tell me this kind of thing would not have completely dominated the news cycle for the rest of the week had this statement come from someone on the Obama campaign. I mean good lord, you people milked the "terrorist fist bump" for days. I'm even hearing criticism about Michelle Obama's "frequent choice of sleeveless dresses at official moments." I realize in your mythical universe--the one you created, completely devoid of facts--Republicans supposedly "own" national security. Btu that doesn't mean they should not be called to answer for the stupid crap they say.
