Obama camp lets rip over McCain aide's terror claim

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democrat Barack Obama kept up an onslaught on John McCain Tuesday after one of the Republican's most trusted aides said a terrorist attack on US soil would benefit his White House bid.

Despite an apology from campaign strategist Charlie Black, and a disavowal from McCain himself, Obama's campaign said Black's slip had unmasked the "politics of fear" behind Republican election tactics.

The remarks generated an avalanche of US media coverage, overshadowing speeches by McCain on energy as he attempted to wrest the policy initiative from Obama at a time of sky-high fuel prices.

Richard Ben-Veniste, a member of the official investigation into the September 11 attacks of 2001, said Black had betrayed "a candid and very disappointing glimpse into...