McCain Misfires by Targeting Prosecutions

Terrorism may be the one issue on which John McCain out-polls his presidential rival, Jonathan Chait writes in the New Republic, yet he has faltered by slamming Obama's call to prosecute terrorists. None other than 9/11 hawk Rudy Giuliani wanted prosecutions too—and other options, like guns and bombs, don't always work. Would anyone want an anti-terror air strike in downtown New York?

"McCain actually had a perfectly credible line of foreign-policy attack against Obama," Chait writes, "that Iraq is improving and could be imperiled by a pullout," an argument that's "looking steadily stronger." His latest argument "suggests his campaign thinks winning on Iraq wouldn't be enough. It's as if, by invoking 9/11, he can summon the return of the mentality that prevailed in the years after the attack."