In a moment of candor McCain's campaign must really regret, chief strategist Charlie Black tells Fortune Magazine:

On national security McCain wins. We saw how that might play out early in the campaign, when one good scare, one timely reminder of the chaos lurking in the world, probably saved McCain in New Hampshire, a state he had to win to save his candidacy - this according to McCain's chief strategist, Charlie Black. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an "unfortunate event," says Black. "But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us." As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. "Certainly it would be a big advantage to him," says Black.

I'm told that CNN's Dana Bash just reported that after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, McCain told her he thought it would help him.

And as callous a statement as Black made, I'm not even entirely convinced it's true. Let's all hope we never find out.

Update [2008-6-23 17:44:23 by Josh Orton]: Statement from the Obama campaign:

“Barack Obama welcomes a debate about terrorism with John McCain, who has fully supported the Bush policies that have taken our eye off of al Qaeda, failed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, and made us less safe. The fact that John McCain’s top advisor 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 Qaeda,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Update [2008-6-23 18:38:20 by Josh Orton]: Here's the clip with the Dana Bash anecdote I mentioned above...