We normally call this foresight. McCain's lack of it marks his life.
He lacked the foresight to predict the fiasco in Iraq.
He lacked the foresight to predict the failure in Afghanistan.
He lacked the foresight to predict the financial calamity we find ourselves in.
McCain: "What I don't know is what all of us don't know, and that's what's going to happen - both here at home and abroad."
Incorrect Senator. Some people do know. We know not because we have mystical powers. We know because we have foresight, reason, and imagination.
When you remove all the street lights from the intersections, you don't have to be a prophet to know that traffic accidents will occur as a result. When you take a stick to a hornets nest, you don't have to have clairvoyance to predict that you will get stung.
McCain, in his final comment, outlined perfectly the source of his failed judgment. He simply lacks the wisdom and foresight to know see the consequences of his actions. And it is his innate uncertainty that should horrify every American.
Sometimes foresight requires complex projections. Other times it a matter of extrapolation. And others, it is merely watching where you're going.
McCain betrayed his nature in those final comments as a man who still does not understand the world he lives in - or the way to navigate it wisely.
This is reflected in the story of his life - from his recklessness as a pilot, to his reckless tongue, to the recklessness of his policies.
I thank Senator McCain for his candor. It was a rare and refreshing moment of honesty in his thoughtless, reckless campaign.