Republican John McCain has been blind-sided by the words of one of his top advisers, who said a terrorist attack on America between now and election day would work to the Arizona senator’s advantage.The campaign of Democrat Barack Obama called the words “a complete disgrace”.Both candidates have fallen victim from words spoken, not by them, but by advisers and associates. For his part, Obama most likely has not heard the last of inflammatory remarks by his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who cursed America for it’s treatment of African Americans.The extent of the damage done by top McCain adviser Charlie Black in an interview to be published in the July 7 edition of Fortune magazine is yet to be gauged, but it drew heavy attention in the US media, especially among 24-hour cable television outlets.Black, who has been in the spotlight for past work as a lobbyist, told Fortune a terrorist attack on US soil “certainly would be a big advantage to him”. He also was quoted as saying the “unfortunate event” of the assassination of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto “helped us”.McCain was startled by the comments when asked about them during a news conference Monday after he delivered a speech on energy policy in California. “I cannot imagine why he would say it. It’s not true,” the senator said. “I’ve worked tirelessly since 9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America. My record is very clear.”The Obama campaign issued a statement almost immediately, saying the remarks were “a complete disgrace”. “Barack Obama welcomes a debate about terrorism with John McCain, who has fully supported the Bush (administration’s) policies that have taken our eye off of al-Qaeda, failed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, and made us less safe,” the statement said.
