Charlie Black: I wish campaign were about national security

There's something chilling about seeing Charlie Black say that he would prefer the campaign be about national security issues:

“We are going to spend the rest of the summer talking about jobs, energy and health care,” said Charlie Black, a senior adviser to Mr. McCain. He said Mr. McCain would prefer that the campaign focus on national security, given his credentials in that area, “but that’s just not the way the world works.”

The problem, of course, is that a couple of weeks ago, Black said a terrorist attack would be an effective way to refocus attention on national security -- thereby boosting McCain's campaign:

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.

Everything Charlie Black says about this is going to be viewed through the prism of his ghoulish comments to FORTUNE. So why is John McCain still him out?