Okay, normally I try to ignore "horse race" news out of the presidential campaign. You know what I mean, the trumpeting of useless little facts used to swipe candidates and distract the public from, you know, the issues. But I can't resist this one: John McCain can't remember how many houses he owns:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.
"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."
According to his staff, McCain owns four residences. Newsweek thinks seven. Steve Benen tries to tally the number, and comes up with as many as thirteen!
First, McCain owns a lot of homes. Second, he owns a lot of properties with multiples homes on the properties. And third, in a couple of instances, McCain has bought two homes, only to start tearing down walls to create super-duper homes. (Do we count the $700,000 condo McCain bought for his daughter as a graduation present? Decisions, decisions.)
(Be sure to check out the Google Earth tour of McCain's properties!)
McCain's been "hitting" back - he brought up arugula and his experience as a POW - but the fact is, the dude doesn't know how many houses he owns!
Again, as Steve Benen notes, this is actually relevant to this presidential election:
This is a pretty devastating message. That McCain has so many homes he's lost track of the number is embarrassing, but what's damaging about this story is the way in which it ties into McCain's misguided economic worldview.
McCain has opposed increases to the minimum wage, he opposes universal healthcare, and he blamed the housing crisis on homeowners. At the same time, McCain thinks the economy is strong, that Bush has been a good steward of the economy, and what the nation really needs is more tax cuts for millionaires.
Remember, this is a guy who thinks if you make $3 million a year you're middle class. |
