McCain unsure how many houses he owns

• Robyn74

  +2

  I guess it is true, you have to be rich to be president.

  Posted 8/21/2008 [reply] [flag]

Links (104)

And We're Puttin' It On Wax... It's The New Economy!
Published 8/21/2008 by Norbizness at Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
And We're Puttin' It On Wax... It's The New Economy! Four and three and two and one... [image] Sultan of Brunei: rich [image] Eldrick "Tiger" Woods: upper-middle class [image] John and Cindy McCain : middle class [image from one of his incalculable number of houses taken from this ...

Democrats Plan Major Offensive on McCain Home Number Ignorance
Published 8/21/2008 by krooney at The Page - by Mark Halperin on TIME.com
... The Party intends to hammer the Arizonan for a comment he made to Politico suggesting he’s unsure how many houses he and his wife own. ...

McCain said yesterday that he was unsure how many houses he has
Published 8/21/2008 by John Aravosis (DC) (noreply@blogger.com) at AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth
... Okay that's just scary. How rich do you have to be, and how cognitively impaired, to not remember how many homes you have? Folks, this is just weird. McCain's oddly inconsistent mental state is a serious, valid question in this election, and the media seems afraid to address it head on. Real people don't have so many homes that they can't remember, unless they're absurdly rich, or they're losing their faculties. McCain didn't make these kind of gaffes eight years ago, when he was 64. What's going on? ...

McCain Doesn’t Know How Many Houses He Owns
Published 8/21/2008 by owillis@gmail.com (Oliver Willis) at Oliver Willis
He’s not like us. 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.” ...

Everybody's Got Problems
Published 8/21/2008 by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo
In these hard economic times, a lot of people have house problems. John McCain's is that he doesn't know how many he owns. Late Update: Thinking about it, this might suggest a contest. Help John McCain remember how many homes he owns. I've heard estimates from 6 to 12, with an apparent consensus in the 8 to 10 range. But where are they? And can we get to one number? If you find articles about particular homes, can you send them in to me by email? ...

ThinkFast: August 21, 2008
Published 8/21/2008 by Think Progress at Think Progress
... at an event in Chester, VA. McCain is unsure how many homes he owned , telling Politico yesterday, “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you . … It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” His staff confirmed McCain owned “at least four” houses, though other reports say he ...

A Man Of The People
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Atrios) at Eschaton
A Man Of The People Like many Americans, John McCain has a hard time remembering just how many homes he owns .

An Ad That Writes Itself
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (A.L.) at The Anonymous Liberal
If the Democrats can't turn this into an effective attack ad, then they should probably just pack up and go home. Can you even imagine if a Democratic candidate had been similarly stumped by the question "how many houses do you own"? That would have been game over.

Two Become One
Published 8/21/2008 by myglesias at Matthew Yglesias
... Amenities aside, though, this is one reason why it’s a bit unfair to tag McCain as out of touch for being unable to remember how many homes he owns. When one of your homes is really a combination of two different luxury condos the metaphysical status of your property comes into question. You’d really need to ask a ...

Kaine on McCain's House Gaffe: "He Couldn't Count High Enough"
Published 8/21/2008 by Hope Ditto at Political Radar
... News' Teddy Davis and Hope Ditto report: Obama V.P. prospect and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine mocked Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday for not knowing exactly how many houses he owns. "I understand that Sen. McCain was asked yesterday this question, 'how many houses do you own?,' and he couldn't answer that question. He couldn’t count high enough apparently to even know how many houses he owns," said Kaine. Kaine, who made his remarks on CNN's "American Morning," was referring to an interview that the presumptive Republican nominee gave to Politico on Wednesday when the ...

Campaign Paydirt
Published 8/21/2008 by Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
Not a great exchange as the dominant theme in the election turns to economic distress and foreclosures: Senator John McCain 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." The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns ...

McCain owns so many homes, he’s lost count
Published 8/21/2008 by Carpetbagger at The Carpetbagger Report
Throughout the campaign, there have been various trivialities that have taken on enormous political significance. Nearly everyone can no doubt rattle more than a few examples off the top of their heads — haircuts, arugula, bowling scores, lapel pins, etc. But I have a hunch not one of these is as humiliating as this one. 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 us in Las ...

You Couldn't Make This Up: "What's That?" "That's Our House, Dear"...
Published 8/21/2008 by Brad DeLong at Grasping Reality with Both Hands: The Semi-Daily Journal of Economist Brad DeLong
... McCain unsure how many houses he owns - Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen - Politico.com: McCain unsure 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." The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at ...

John McCain Does Not Know How Many Houses He Owns. This Is Not a Joke
Published 8/21/2008 by Jonathan Stein at MotherJones.com | MoJoBlog - Social Issues and Political Commentary
... John McCain Does Not Know How Many Houses He Owns. This Is Not a Joke A fall full of moments like these will be entertaining. You have to wonder if there is video. 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." The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple ...

Details, Details
Published 8/21/2008 by hilzoy at Obsidian Wings
... by hilzoy I certainly hope that no one will give John McCain a hard time over this: "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 us in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you." The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven ...

Dems Open Major Populist Offensive Over McCain's Houses Gaffe
Published 8/21/2008 by Eric Kleefeld at TPM Election Central
... The DNC is already blasting out to reporters two key comments. First, McCain was asked how many houses he owns. "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you," McCain said. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you." ...

Quote of the Day
Published 8/21/2008 at Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
"I think -- I'll have my staff get to you." -- Sen. John McCain, quoted by Politico, when asked how many homes he owns.

McCain Revises His Definition Of ‘Rich’: Some People ‘Are Poor If They’re Billionaires’
Published 8/21/2008 by Matt at Think Progress
... In an interview with Politico yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was stumped when asked “how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.” “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” replied McCain. Though his staff says “the correct answer is at least four,” the McCains ...

Coming to a Commercial Near You
Published 8/21/2008 by John Cole at Balloon Juice
Remember now, Obama is the elitist: 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.” The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties. ...

McCain unsure how many houses he owns
Published 8/21/2008 at Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News
... in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties. In recent weeks, Democrats have stepped up their effort to caricature McCain as living an outlandishly rich lifestyle — a bit of payback to the GOP for portraying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as an elitist, and for turning the spotlight in 2004 on the five homes owned by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12685.html

Man of the People
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Melissa McEwan) at Shakesville
... Asked yesterday how many houses he and his wife own, presumed GOP nominee and straight-talkin', completely average everyman John McCain replied: "I think—I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where—I'll have them get to you." ...

Does The Barry 57 Campaign Really Want To Go There?
Published 8/21/2008 at Stop The ACLU
‘Memba this? I’m hearing and reading that Camp Barry might use McCain’s little inability to remember how many homes he has as a theme against McCain. Does Barry 57 really want to go there? Please, please go there, Barack.

Around the Web: 2008
Published 8/21/2008 by Katherine Connell at The Corner
Thursday, August 21, 2008 [image] Around the Web: 2008 [Katherine Connell] The latest on the candidates . . . McCain Conservatives Urge a Running Mate Who Opposes Abortion Los Angeles TImes [image] The Silver Bullet The Washington Post [image] Calls Lobbyists 'Birds of Prey' Politico [image] Unsure How Many Houses He Owns Politico [image] Giuliani, Lieberman Will Speak at GOP Convention The Washington Post [image] Exclusive: No Single-Term Pledge Politico [image] [image] Obama On His Veep Thinking Time [image] Team Seeks Changes in ...

McCain’s Housing Crisis: He Can’t Remember How Many He Owns
Published 8/21/2008 by Blue Texan at Firedoglake
... John McSame, non-elitist regular joe six-pack man of the people. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. ...

People Who Live in Seven Glass Houses….
Published 8/21/2008 by Natalie Gewargis at Political Punch
... People Who Live in Seven Glass Houses…. August 21, 2008 11:37 AM CHESTER, VIRGINIA -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, just hit Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for a Politico interview in which he said he wasn't sure how many houses he has. Asked how many houses he and his wife Cindy own, McCain told Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen "I think - I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you." It seemed a real gaffe for a politician who is trying to paint Obama as an elitist. So this morning, after acknowledging that McCain "has a compelling personal ...

McCain Doesn’t Know How Many Houses He’s Got
Published 8/21/2008 by Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief at PoliGazette
... A new day, a new outrage. It seems that Senator John McCain is not quite sure how many houses he and his wife, who comes from a very rich family indeed, own. ...

Barack Obama Rips McCain for His Houses
Published 8/21/2008 by Flap at FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
... Barack Obama is up with a new ad that exploits a McCain statement that he did not know how many houses he owned. 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.” The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this ...

Barack Obama: I only have one house
Published 8/21/2008 by John McCormick at The Swamp
... Standing under towering pine trees with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine at his side, Obama used a McCain interview with Politico on Wednesday to make his point as he spoke to a small audience outside a community college. ...

A Sign That Obama Is Fighting Back
Published 8/21/2008 at Marc Ambinder
... The proximate cause is McCain's fumbling answer to Politico about the number of houses he owns. (". "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you") ...

And they drink Latte's too
Published 8/21/2008 by Max Bergmann at democracyarsenal.org
Who again is the elitest Latte drinker??? (AP...via Politico)

McCain Can't Remember How Many Houses He Has
Published 8/21/2008 by MissLaura at Daily Kos
No, really. 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." Granted, McCain has a lot of houses, but even the highest estimates are like a dozen. That's not some ten-digit number like 1,537,993,625 (which anyone would have trouble remembering) where if you transpose the five and the three it's a major ...

Carol Platt Liebau: Elitism is a State of Mind
Published 8/21/2008 at Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog
Ok, ok -- John McCain isn't sure how many properties he and his wife own . But before the Democrats get carried away, it's worth noting that they are poorly positioned to argue that McCain is too rich to be President. In fact, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of 2006, ...

New Obama ad: Hey, McCain’s rich
Published 8/21/2008 by Allahpundit at Hot Air » Top Picks
... in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who’s in touch with regular Americans? The reality is that Barack Obama’s plans to raise taxes and opposition to producing more energy here at home as gas prices skyrocket show he’s completely out of touch with the concerns of average Americans. –McCain spokesman Brian Rogers It’s high time for a Rezko ad, just like it was high time for an Ayers ad yesterday . Still, an embarrassing gaffe this morning in forgetting how many homes he owns, nearly matched by the embarrassing lameness of Tim Kaine’s ...

Man of the People
Published 8/21/2008 by Joe Klein at Swampland - TIME.com
McCain doesn't know how many homes he owns? Devastating.

Obama Counts McCain's Houses
Published 8/21/2008 by By Kate Phillips at The Caucus
CHESTER, Va. — If John McCain had tried to play into Barack Obama’s strategy of sounding out of touch with ordinary people, he could not have done better than to say in an interview that he didn’t know how many houses he had. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” Mr. McCain told reporters for The Politico in an interview in New Mexico on Wednesday. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” Mr. Obama seized on the remark at his first event here today to bolster his case that Mr. McCain is too rich to understand what’s going on with the economy and had ...

Now Who's Effete?
Published 8/21/2008 by Jay Newton-Small at Swampland - TIME.com
Chester, Virginia Obama today at a "discussion on the economy" here latched on to McCain’s recent comments to Politico when asked about the number of houses McCain has. ...

Obama Paints McCain as Wealthy and Clueless
Published 8/21/2008 by The Washington Post at 44
... Then again, that same day, when asked how many houses he owns, McCain lost track -- he couldn't remember. Well, it's seven. Seven houses. And here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into. [Shot of the White House] Analysis: This Barack Obama ad attempts to paint the senator from Arizona as a wealthy, out-of-touch elitist -- precisely the tactic that Republicans once used against John Kerry and John Edwards. McCain did make the comment about the economy and, in an interview with Politico yesterday, could not enumerate how many houses he owns (valued at ...

Multiple Houses Meet Arugula
Published 8/21/2008 by hotlineblog (jskalka@nationaljournal.com) at Hotline On Call
It's the kind of gaffe that could haunt a GOP campaign intent on keeping regular guys loyal to the Republican nom. John McCain told Politico yesterday that he's not exactly sure how many houses he and his wife 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." The AZ senator joked a few days prior during a visit to Pastor Rick Warren’s faith forum that he defined someone as rich if he earned $5M annually. The Dems ...

John McCain Doesn’t Know How Many Homes He Owns
Published 8/21/2008 by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief at The Moderate Voice
... Republican Presidential nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain has just made a gaffe that will test whether Democratic party strategists are ready to contest the election or whether they will (a)be negative role models for future college political science students and/or (b)should be sued for negligence. ...

Obama: If You Don't Know How Many Homes You Have, You Don't Understand Economic Climate
Published 8/21/2008 by Chris Good at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... –Barack Obama today had this to say about a report that John McCain is unsure of how many homes he owns: "I guess if you think that being rich means you’ve got to make $5 million and if you don’t know how many houses you have, then it’s not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong," Obama said today in Chester, Virginia. "But if you’re like me, and you’ve got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so they don’t lose their home, you might have a different perspective. And by the ...

Bill Barol: "But I am reasonably certain, my friends, that I own exactly sixteen Patek Philippe watches."
Published 8/21/2008 by Bill Barol at Politics on HuffingtonPost.com
... If you're looking for a good, concrete example of a guy who's right in touch with the aspirations of ordinary Americans you'd be hard-pressed to top a guy who isn't sure how many houses he owns. I mean, isn't that The American Dream right there -- to own so many houses that you can't even count them? Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: Gosh, this is a cheap shot. After all, according to Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen of Politico, the actual number is quite low, as numbers go: Four. (Newsweek says seven; a group called ...

House flap manna from heaven for Obama, Dems
Published 8/21/2008 by Carpetbagger at The Carpetbagger Report
... about a reporter from the Politico asking John McCain yesterday how many homes he owns. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain said. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” ...

John McCain’s Houses
Published 8/21/2008 by James Joyner at Outside The Beltway | OTB
... How rich and out of touch with ordinary American working stiffs is John McCain?  Why, he doesn’t even know how many houses he owns! This story, published by The Politico , is now the top story on ...

How Many Houses-Gate?
Published 8/21/2008 at Real Clear Politics - TIME.com
So John McCain couldn't tell Mike Allen and Jon Martin how many houses he owns. Is this a huge deal? The Obama campaign certainly thinks so. Obama ...

The same ole' class envy BS
Published 8/21/2008 by George Moneo at Babalu Blog
The same ole' class envy BS So now the Messiah is ticked off that John McCain (and his wife, presumably) own seven houses . You know what I think (and I'm not a McCain supporter by any stretch)? I could care less. The fact that he owns property is a good sign, not a bad sign. The fact that his wife makes scads of bucks with her beer distributorship is a good sign, not a bad sign. This is nothing but a sop thrown out to the frustrated, loser, patchouli-smelling, Birkenstock-wearing, class-envy Dem socialists. I hope you get some solace from this guys. Posted by George Moneo at ...

Obama to Air TV Ad on McCain's Home Gaffe
Published 8/21/2008 by Chris Good at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... Barack Obama's campaign will start airing an ad nationwide on cable TV today hitting John McCain for being unsure of how many homes he owns, after a recent report claiming McCain said as much in an interview. The ad tells viewers that McCain owns seven houses, while McCain's campaign has said the Arizona Republican owns at least four. PolitiFact ...

McCain unsure how many house he owns
Published 8/21/2008 by Jefferson Thomas at Fired Up! Missouri -
Just how out of touch is John McCain with the day-to-day challenges of middle class life in America? Pretty darn out of touch. The guy can't even remember how many pairs of shoes houses he owns.  "I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told [a reporter] in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you." We will be waiting for the staff inventory, but the answer is... seven.

Gotcha, McCain
Published 8/21/2008 by John McCormack at Weekly Standard Blog
The party of John Edwards, Inc. and John and Teresa Heinz Kerry is having quite a field day with John McCain's statement that he's unsure how many houses he owns. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers responds: “Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people ...

Shots from the Show 8/21
Published 8/21/2008 at Tammy Bruce
**This post will be updated throughout the show** Politico: McCain unsure how many houses he owns Is this the best everyone can do when looking for McCain controversy? Barry thinks it's just perfect for his very own "Two Americas" Bravo Sierra. The left has always tried to demonize the successful. That way, they figure, you'll care less when the tyrants start taking things that don't belong to them. One word of advice for Barry: he would be better served by ...

Published 8/21/2008 by Steve M. (noreply@blogger.com) at No More Mister Nice Blog
... ... to the first right-wing flack or mainstream-media pundit who tells us that John McCain's inability to remember how many homes he owns ("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") is a sign that, in fact, he's really an ordinary guy after all, because he clearly doesn't take his wealth and privilege seriously and hasn't let it all go to his head. ...

Matt Lewis: Little Pink Houses for You and Me ...
Published 8/21/2008 at Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog
... have written on this . But I thought it was also worth noting that McCain did the interview in New Mexico. That’s a swing state. More to the point, Las Cruces (where I believe the interview took place) is situated in an important part of the state. Shouldn’t Martin and Allen have been asking why McCain thinks he’ll appeal there, or about issues that matter there? That would have been, perhaps, a more substantive thing to focus on, as opposed to the "gotcha" nature of the housing question ...

McCain Camp Responds to 'Houses' Attack With Reference to 'Bitter' Remark
Published 8/21/2008 by Walter Alarkon at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... Now both presidential campaigns have dialed up the rhetoric in the wake of John McCain's remark that he didn't know how many houses he owned. The McCain campaign responded Thursday to an ...

The McCain-Obama house debate pins the gaffe-ometer
Published 8/21/2008 by Scott Martelle at Top of the Ticket
... -- couldn't answer a question Wednesday that most people have no trouble answering: How many houses do you own?  "I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told ...

Fighting Back
Published 8/21/2008 by Pamela Leavey at The Democratic Daily
... The proximate cause is McCain’s fumbling answer to Politico about the number of houses he owns. (”. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you”) ...

8/21: Turning A Corner?
Published 8/21/2008 at Blogometer
... and are urging the Obama camp to use it in an ad. Next, McCain told Politico that he doesn't know how many houses he owns -- an admission that the Obama camp has already turned into an ...

McCain: Leave My Many Homes Alone!
Published 8/21/2008 by The Huffington Post News Editors at The Huffington Post | Full News Feed
... But McCain hit back by pointing out that Obama lived in Chicago's RezkoDome, where the Weather Underground frolic, and there are such elitist features such as hot AND cold running water. And who can even keep track of how many homes McCain has anyway? Different people in this Politico article say he has four, six, and seven homes! Isn't the point here that if you multiply the number of McCain homes by the zero homes I own, you get zero homes? ...

Bush Moves To Remove Iraq From The Campaign By... Adopting Obama's Position-- McCain Too Busy Counting His Homes To Realize
Published 8/21/2008 by DownWithTyranny (noreply@blogger.com) at DownWithTyranny!
... the security forces would go a long way toward bringing about the sort of reconciliation needed for long-term stability. Kevin Drum takes a good look at the probable impact domestically and at the spin each campaign is likely to use. One thing is certain though; the war is viewed by most Americans as a mistake and it is another example of McCain's lifelong awful judgment. McCain is dazed, confused and out-of-touch. He doesn't even know how many homes he owns-- is it four? Seven? Ten? Thirteen? Do you ...

Obama Going Someplace He Should Not
Published 8/21/2008 by Curt at Flopping Aces
... This is just classic. Obama finds himself either tied with McCain or losing in the latest polls and he goes on the attack accusing McCain of basically being a….get this….elitist. Pot meet kettle. The Obama campaign seized on the house issue Thursday with an ad called “Seven,” claiming that’s the number of houses McCain has. The ad closes with a shot of the White House and the narration: “Here’s ONE house American can’t afford to let John McCain move into.” McCain spokesman Brian ...

McCain can’t remember how many homes he owns
Published 8/21/2008 by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars
Only non-elitists have trouble keeping track of all their multi-million dollar houses. Politico:  (audio available here) 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.”  Is McCain’s memory so shot that he genuinely ...

Upper Class Twits
Published 8/21/2008 by Michael Crowley at The Stump
... If I'm John McCain I'm certainly regretting having said that about all my houses. On the other hand, in politics memes tend to stick when they reinforce things that people already intuitively believe. Hence George HW Bush in the ...

Responding to House Attacks, RNC Launches Site Dedicated to Obama/Rezko Ties
Published 8/21/2008 by Chris Good at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched a website this afternoon dedicated to Barack Obama's ties to fundraiser, convicted felon, and real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko, looking to hit back as the Obama camp hammers John McCain for telling reporters he's not sure  how many houses he and his wife own. Obama's ties to Rezko, who raised money for Obama and helped the senator buy his Chicago home, have been a cornerstone of their response to the "houses" gaffe. The RNC sent an e-mail to reporters, dubbing the Rezko association "Obama's Housing Problem." The ...

John McCain's housing bubble
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (creature) at The Reaction
By Creature "I think - I'll have my staff get to you." -- a clueless and confused John McCain responding to a question on how many homes he owns. And they call Barack Obama an elitist. I wished they had asked Fancy Pants McCain how many $520 Ferragamo moccasins he has as well. Thankfully, the Obama camp is on the ball with this gift that keeps on giving. Here's the response ad: Here's Obama on the stump hitting ...

Fact-Checking Obama’s “At Least 4 Houses” Ad
Published 8/21/2008 by Venomous Kate at Electric Venom
... In a recent interview John McCain said he didn’t know how many houses he and wife Cindy own. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain told Politico on Wedneday. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” ...

Counting houses
Published 8/21/2008 by TigerHawk (noreply@blogger.com) at TigerHawk
I've been sitting all day in absolutely perfect weather on a dock on a lake that looks like glass, so I am a bit behind in my reading and posting. Suffice it to say that I did not miss much, judging by the importance today's campaign kerfuffle . Apparently John McCain did not immediately know how many houses he owns, and this is a sign of how out of touch he is. I had three reactions to this, the first being that the ongoing argument over which candidate is less "of the people" is more than a little silly. Nobody who runs for president is even remotely normal or in touch with ...

Media Defends McCain: It’s Not ‘A Huge Deal’ That He Doesn’t Know How Many Houses He Owns
Published 8/21/2008 by Ben at Think Progress
... Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said yesterday in an interview with Politico that he did not know how many houses he and his wife Cindy own. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain said. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” His staff has since said “the correct answer is at least four,” but the McCains ...

McCain To Debut Obama-Rezko Corruption Website
Published 8/21/2008 by Pat Dollard at Pat Dollard | Young Americans
Related: Obama’s Housing Problem Well, it started out sort of light and silly enough, but suddenly it’s getting very hot in here. This morning, Politico published an article from which this is excerpted: 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 ...

McCain “How Many Houses” Story Gains Traction
Published 8/21/2008 by Kathy at Comments from Left Field
Wow, this “McCain doesn’t know how many houses he has” story has caught fire on Memeorandum. It’s about time the Obama campaign goes on the offensive about this. It’s nice to see some media play given to this prime example of how out of touch McCain is with most Americans. Politico broke the story: 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 ...

Noun, Verb, POW
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Mustang Bobby) at Shakesville
John McCain can't remember how many houses he owns, but that's okay because he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Quiddity's rule applies. (Cross-posted.)

McCain Plans Ad Ripping Obama on Rezko
Published 8/21/2008 by Hope Ditto at Political Radar
... ad but vows that it will air on broadcast television in "key states." As of publication time, the McCain campaign had not produced a script or beta copy of the ad. It is aiming, however, to make the ad available in time for Thursday's 6:30 pm ET network newscasts. The ad from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., follows an Obama ad attacking the presumptive GOP nominee for being uncertain during a recent interview about how many houses he owns. "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." ...

Mitchell Bard: August 21, 2008: The Day John McCain's Campaign Died
Published 8/21/2008 by Mitchell Bard at Politics on HuffingtonPost.com
... Yesterday, McCain had his windsurfing moment. When asked how many houses he and his wife owned, McCain said he didn't know and would have to check with his staffers. After the McCain campaign said the answer was at least four, ...

how many average americans do you know
Published 8/21/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Cookie Jill) at skippy the bush kangaroo
... sen. john mccain (r-az) said yesterday in an interview with politico that he did not know how many houses he and his wife cindy own. “i think — i’ll have my staff get to you,” mccain said. “it’s condominiums where — i’ll have them get to you.” his staff has since said “the correct answer is at least four,” but the mccains ...

VIDEO: John McCain - How Many Homes?
Published 8/21/2008 by Dorsey Shaw at The Latest on Air America
... John McCain was the one sounding a lot like an elitist on Wednesday. In an interview with Politico, McCain admitted he had no idea how many houses he and his wife currently own.  ...

Bad - Really Bad - Move
Published 8/21/2008 by Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard
... over Obama's ties to Rezko. Does a guy who bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses? Spokesman Rogers: Says Obama lives in a frickin mansion that was bought in a shady deal with a convicted felon. Says they will hit harder on Tony Rezko. People who live in glass mansions might want to heed that old proverb. The full quote from the McCain camp is actually a lot more pointed than the excerpt quoted above: McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said in response: "Does a guy who made more than $4 million ...

How many houses does McCain own? None
Published 8/21/2008 by Ed Morrissey at Hot Air » Top Picks
... that eluded John McCain in his earlier interview .  The actual number of houses owned by McCain is … zero.  That’s right — the Senator doesn’t own a single property in his own name: John McCain’s family owns at least eight properties — not the seven Democrats are alleging or the four McCain’s staff identified — according to a Politico analysis of property and tax records, as well as interviews. The presumptive Republican nominee, though, may have some wiggle room in explaining why he couldn’t immediately provide an answer when asked by Politico how many houses he and his ...

Brandon Friedman: John McCain Needs to Lay Off the POW Talk
Published 8/22/2008 by Brandon Friedman at Politics on HuffingtonPost.com
When John McCain revealed that he didn't know how many houses he and his wife currently own (they have at least eight properties), the Obama campaign pounced. They accused him of being elitist and disconnected and launched an ad within hours. The McCain campaign--realizing this was trouble--retorted the only way they knew how: With a truly stupefying response from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the ...

Quick Hits and Deep Thoughts: Home Ownership Edition
Published 8/22/2008 by BlueOregon.com at BlueOregon
... exist mainly to move environment-polluting vehicles around, celebrate American consumerism, and serve as a killing field for animals and humans. Why not honor our heroes by renaming lakes, rivers, mountains, cliffsides, parks, plazas, arenas, and buildings? He's got a point. If the Oregonian is trying to convince me (and you) to support Measure 65, I'm pretty sure "More Republican Governors" isn't the way to go. How many houses do you own? I own one. John McCain has no idea how many houses he owns. No wonder he thinks you have to make $5 ...

Fox Totally Misrepresents the Issue of McCain Not Knowing How Many Houses He Owns
Published 8/22/2008 by Melanie at News Hounds
... As everyone this side of a hole in the ground knows, in an interview yesterday with Politico, John McCain said he's "unsure how many houses he owns." The significance of that is (1) how out of touch with everyday life is a person who doesn't know the answer to that question and (2) if McCain doesn't know the answer to that question, does he have the mental capacity to deal with the myriad complex issues that will confront him as president? ...

All the news in bits
Published 8/22/2008 at The Sideshow
Atrios can be so wonderfully succinct - the whole post says, "A Man Of The People: Like many Americans, John McCain has a hard time remembering just how many homes he owns." Glenn Greenwald discusses the absurd concern of Serious People that, by giving Rachel Maddow, an actual liberal, her own TV show, MSNBC is forsaking the historically objective values of TV news ordinarily found on Fox (Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Britt Hume), CNN (Glen Beck, Nancy Grace), and MSNBC itself (Joe Scarborough, Michael Savage, Tucker Carlson), and polluting the media ...

McCain to Obama: Oh, Now It’s On Rookie!
Published 8/22/2008 by Jimmie at The Sundries Shack
... So why in the world would he make a big deal of this Politico story wherein John McCain couldn’t tell a reporter how many homes he owned? Trying to portray someone as a rich guy isn’t a very effective attack unless you can also paint him as culturally elitist as well. The bogus scanner story worked on the first President Bush because he was already widely perceived as not knowing a darned thing about ordinary American life. That doesn’t work on ...

People Who Live In Glass Houses
Published 8/22/2008 at Jules Crittenden
... Obama camp makes hay with McCain’s failure to remember how many properties he and his wife own. Politico . McCain camp appreciates the opportunity to discuss the issue. ...

Democrats Really Wanted To Go There?
Published 8/22/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (lawhawk) at A Blog For All
So, today's latest and greatest kerfuffle revolved around a question posed of Sen. John McCain over how many homes he owned. He couldn't give a definitive answer and said that his staffers would have to get back to them. Democrats quickly pounced on this. Why? Well, they thought they had a gotcha moment, but I think they didn't entirely game this out, but we'll get to that in a moment. They quickly attacked McCain, as seen in this video with ...

FMB - Friday McBush Bashing
Published 8/22/2008 by Michael at Discourse.net
... Politico, McCain unsure how many houses he owns. The correct answer, by the way, is ...

Why McCain, Obama house fight matters
Published 8/22/2008 by Frank James at The Swamp
... It was all brought on by Politico's Mike Allen, the hardest working reporter in Washington, who asked Sen. John McCain what we all assumed before now was a simple question with a simple answer: how many houses do you own? to which the senator, stunningly, responded with uncertainty, saying he would have to ask his staff. ...

Immorally unowned property?
Published 8/22/2008 at Classical Values
... John McCain owns would be of any more interest to anyone than how many shares of stock he owns, how many cars, how many suits, how many websites, or how many guns. Anyway, when asked the question, McCain said "I can't remember" -- not because he is senile or out of touch as the Obama campaign is implying in its ads, but because he apparently doesn't own any houses. They are all in his wife's name. But even then, it's not clear to reporters who investigated how many there might be: The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according ...

McCain's Ad Response to House Attacks: Rezko
Published 8/22/2008 by Chris Good at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... John McCain's campaign last night jumped into the ad war over McCain's uncertainty of how many houses he owns. Several hours after Barack Obama's campaign put out ...

FOX defends McCain against charges of elitism, leave false accusations against Obama unchallenged
Published 8/22/2008 by Chrish at News Hounds
... In several different segments this morning on FOX and Friends 8/22/08, the Friends discussed John McCain's recent admission to Politico.com that he had to get back to them about how many houses he owns, the Obama camp's immediate ad responding to the perceived elitism, and the McCain camp's response to the response, resurrecting disproved accusations of wrongdoing between Obama and disgraced Chicago businessman Tony Rezko. ...

Daily Digest: The One with Obama's VP Pick!
Published 8/22/2008 by Nancy Scola at techPresident
... The Age of Instant Response Dawns: In the period between breakfast and dinner yesterday, John McCain's inability to total up the number of homes he and his wife Cindy own went from a story on Politico.com to a full blown campaign meme. The flames were fed by "Seven," a 30-second ad whipped together by the Obama campaign's press team. The spot has since garnered ...

Out of touch, out of mind
Published 8/22/2008 by Goldy at HorsesAss.Org
... In our News interview, he was asked what kind of car he drove. As with Politico’s question about home ownership, he didn’t know and had to ask a nearby aide. “A Cadillac CTS,” she told him. ...

Fox News: “Is Obama Bashing ‘American Dream’ By Bashing McCain’s 7 Homes?”
Published 8/22/2008 by Faiz at Think Progress
... On Fox News’ Your World, host Neil Cavuto defended John McCain’s inability to recall the number of homes he owns by attacking critics who have ...

Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points [44] -- McCain House Party!
Published 8/23/2008 by Chris Weigant at Politics on HuffingtonPost.com
John McCain said something ridiculous to a reporter yesterday. I hasten to point out that the previous sentence should have been a major media headline at least twice a week for the past three or four months. McCain has been saying downright ridiculous stuff throughout the entire campaign and the media, up until now, has largely given him a free pass on it. But I'm certainly not looking this gift horse in the mouth. For weeks now, I have been practically begging someone -- ANYone -- to ask John McCain this exact question: "How many ...

Musings Over Morning Coffee
Published 8/23/2008 by DemFromCT at Daily Kos
You expect to see message discipline from Republicans, not from Democrats. But the flustered McCain camp is all over the place with their message. He's a naive elitist! No, he's a canny Chicago politician! This is nothing new. As Chris Weigant points out: John McCain said something ridiculous to a reporter yesterday. I hasten to point out that the previous sentence should have been a major media headline at least twice a week for the past three or four months. McCain has been saying downright ridiculous stuff throughout the entire ...

The Netroots Created the Housing Gaffe
Published 8/24/2008 by Matt Stoller at Open Left - Front Page
... , I received this email from Leighton Woodhouse of Brave New Films.  Woodhouse essentially said that the netroots discovered McCain's housing problem and pushed it relentlessly until that fateful interview with McCain on Wednesday.  He makes a pretty compelling case.  Brave New Films pushed out a video ...

Halperin: McCain’s Houses Gaffe ‘One Of The Worst Moments’ Of The Campaign For…Barack Obama
Published 8/24/2008 by Ben at Think Progress
... Last week Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told Politico that he did not know how many homes he and his wife Cindy own. “I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain said. ThinkProgress ...

John McCain's housing gaffe: Democrats likely to dwell on it
Published 8/25/2008 by Don Frederick at Top of the Ticket
... , in the wake of his now infamous gaffe about the extent of his property holdings, can brace for other Democrats to get back to it again, and again, and again. ...

8/25: Reactions To Biden
Published 8/25/2008 at Blogometer
... War resolution and the 2005 bankruptcy bill), they believe that the Obama camp will benefit from his aggressive style: OBAMA VEEPSTAKES III: A Terrible Decision? Most conservative bloggers ridiculed Obama's decision to choose Biden as his running mate: OBAMA VEEPSTAKES IV: Biden? Ho-Hum Other conservative bloggers were slightly less critical of the pick: MCCAIN: How You Livin', John McCain? In Mansions And Benz's... Liberal bloggers believe that McCain made an enormous error when he admitted that he doesn't know how many houses he owns : Liberal bloggers are also pleased that ...

Durbin: 'McCain Has Had a 12-and-0 Run'
Published 8/25/2008 by Hope Ditto at Political Radar
... has had a 12-and-0 run here in this basketball game." "But we know the momentum can shift," he added. "And it's going to shift, starting in Denver." Durbin's description of McCain being on a "12-and-0 run" was a startling assertion from a campaign that has rarely acknowledged weaknesses. While Durbin was optimistic that momentum was about to return to Obama, his characterization of McCain being the candidate with momentum comes even after Obama's vice presidential roll-out and McCain's Politico interview in which he referred a question about how many houses he owns to his ...

The ‘Job Killing Machine’ Rips Up Denver, Joe Biden
Published 8/27/2008 by hotlineblog (jskalka@nationaljournal.com) at Hotline On Call
... Something else which may rule Romney off the ticket: his wealth. McCain has recently been battling the charge that because he owns several properties – or doesn’t know how many he owns -- he’s out of touch with average Americans. ...

"Nervous" Democrats a Victim of Their Own Fear?
Published 8/28/2008 by Eric Earling at Sound Politics
... of how "nervous" Democrats fear Barack Obama isn't being tough enough. Interesting question. Is he not tough enough or is his campaign being goaded into foolish responses by the specter of Democratic wussiness gone by (see Kerry, John and Dukakis, Michael). Consider: 1) When John McCain had his now infamous "housing" gaffe , the Obama campaign ...

Obama Camp on Pawlenty: Bring It On
Published 8/28/2008 by Arnab Datta at Political Radar
... the fact that it's John McCain's agenda on the ballot," added David Plouffe. The Obama campaign manager joined Axelrod at a breakfast with reporters in Denver which was held on the same day that Obama is set to deliver a speech accepting the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Some GOP strategists have speculated in private about whether Pawlenty's odds of becoming McCain's running mate improved vis a vis Mitt Romney in the wake of the Arizona senator's seeming inability to tell Politico how many houses he owns . Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who ran against ...

That’s it; they’re trying to lose
Published 9/3/2008 at pandagon.net - VOTE
... , the overuse of this tactic really captured the mainstream’s attention.  But so far, my favorite stumble was when he plead ignorance when asked how many homes he owns.  That’s not really a question about the issues, but still, it touches on major issues pertaining to the quality of life for the average American---the growing economic disparity between the rich and the rest of us and the mortgage crisis.  I suspect McCain’s “inability” to answer was a product of this strategy of avoiding all unpleasant questions by pleading ...

Real McCain of Genius: 'Mr. I Don't Know How Many Houses I Own'
Published 9/5/2008 by Chris Good at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
... ad campaign, "saluting" McCain as a "Real McCain of Genius." The first salutes McCain as "Mr. I Don't Know How Many Houses I Own," mocking the senator for being unable to tell reporters how many houses he and his wife own when asked in late August. Change to Win employed a New York-based comedy troupe called Olde English to make the videos.

New Yorker cover spotlights McCain’s houses, foreclosure crisis.
Published 9/6/2008 by Amanda at Think Progress
The cover of the new issue of the New Yorker spotlights Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) multiple houses, contrasting his wealth with the foreclosure crisis many Americans are struggling with: ThinkProgress spoke with New Yorker spokeswoman Alexa Cassanos, who said that the McCain cover is in no way intended to be a response to the controversy over the satirical Obama cover in July.

An Itemized Case For Barack Obama
Published 9/16/2008 by Kyle E. Moore at Comments from Left Field
... his middle class tax cut is 3 - 8 times bigger than McCain’s according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center Obama’s budget adds up better than “we’ve seen in a Presidential candidate in a very long time”; his plan will leave 1.2 trillion dollars less debt than McCain’s (non-partisan TPC) McCain had to check with his staff when asked how many houses he owns and what kind of car he drives ...

Daniel Kurtzman: McCain and Palin In Their Own Words: 25 Laughable Quotes
Published 10/15/2008 by Daniel Kurtzman at Politics on HuffingtonPost.com
... 7. "I think ― I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where ― I'll have them get to you." ―McCain, after being asked how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own, interview with Politico, Las Cruces, N.M., Aug. 20, 2008 (Source; take a ...

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