At least it ain't the Mexicans

Wow. This is beyond terrifying.

Two things are remarkable here. First, that McCain genuinely seems to believe that Islamic extremism poses not just a threat, but a threat to the very existence of the West. This is science fiction territory. Second, that he apparently can't come up with any better answer to Fortune's question about economic threats. Not energy, not high taxes, not runaway entitlement growth, not healthcare, not globalization, not any of a dozen plausible answers that would have gone down fine with his base. Instead, "His eyes are narrowed. Nine seconds of silence, ten seconds, 11." And then he came up with Islamic extremism.

Either, as Drum seems to imply, McCain is simply turning every issue into a referendum on national security, regardless of what he actually believes; or McCain does truly believe that Islamic extremism has the military and financial power to destroy Western nations' economies.

Maybe a little bit of both. In any case, McCain has absolutely no use for domestic policy discussions. And his foreign policy appears to be a combination of bluster and The League of Nations That Reliably Side with America.