Fact-Checking Obama’s “At Least 4 Houses” Ad
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.”
Not surprisingly, Barack Obama pounced on McCain’s uncertainty. And also not surprising, Obama is apparently hoping that by being the first to point fingers none will point back at him. Thus said Obama on the campaign trail in Virginia:
“Now think about that — I guess if you think that being rich means you gotta 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 is fundamentally strong,” Obama said Thursday.
“But if you’re like me and you’ve got one house — or you were like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so that they don’t lose their home — you might have a different perspective.” (emphasis added)
Not so fast, Senator Obama.
Granted, you didn’t make $5 million last year. With your wife’s earnings the Obama household income was a more modest $4.2 million in 2007, but what’s a piddling $800,000… unless you’re like me.
So, okay, you know how many homes you own, just as you know — and we do, too — that house of Obama you live in cost $1.65 million with the land beneath it another $625,000. Good thing you got a Senator Sweetheart deal on your mortgage which if you’re like me you wouldn’t have qualified for.
And wasn’t it nice that when you couldn’t afford to buy the lot next to yours Mrs. Rezko (wife of Tony Rezko, who’s been indicted for fraud and kick-back schemes and will now face sentencing a week before the election) stepped in and bought it instead, then turned around and sold you a 10-foot strip of the lot later? If you’re like me that sounds pretty fishy, Senator.
So, fine, McCain has a rich wife who owns a number of houses and you have, well Michelle and only one residence. But it seems to me that the longer you campaign the more we find that the closets in that one house are jam-packed with skeletons and lies.
And if you’re like me, that’s all I need to know about you, Senator Obama.
That $1.65 million price tag was a $300K discount from the asking price. I could get a really nice house in my area for that…
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I honestly don’t think you have to worry that this guy will end up as President. I really don’t, regardless of the “tight race” in the polls. It’s “tight” because people are willing to claim they will vote for Obama, but when they enter that ballot box, I am sure many will resist voting for a black man. Simple as that. Terrible to say, and mainstream media wants desperately for everyone to believe that the world has changed, the US in particular, and a black man has a chance to be President, but it ain’t gonna happen.
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The real important thing to remember is that Senator Obama cut his political teeth IN CHICAGO!!!
He’s starting to use that as a “plus” to show how tough he is.
Folks, I grew up in Chicago…there’s nothing “new” or “hopey” or “changey” about Chicago politics.
This is where the quote, “It’s election day, vote early and vote often.” came from!
This is where people love politics so much they don’t stop voting even after they’ve died.
This is where politicians, priests, mobsters, rabbis and other “respected community leaders” meet in back rooms and decide who gets what for the coming election cycle.
I can’t believe he’s mentioning anything about Chicago or his home there.
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As usual Kate, you are right on track. I can’t believe how many people say they want ‘change’ without asking just exactly what that ‘change’ will be!!
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Blah. Obama sucks. McCain sucks. Politicians suck. There. A broad, sweeping generalization that is more often than not, true.
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I am an Arizona resident who has been impatiently waiting for someone to point out that John McCain’s attacks on Obama for being an elitist were hypocritical at best. The mainstream news media could have pointed this out a long time ago… The information has been out there.
The point isn’t who is richer than whom. The point is that McCain who tries to come off like an average guy who understands the average Americans’ trials and tribulations… doesn’t. Especially when he has an Economic Adviser saying that we the American people are bunch of “whiners” and that the money crunch we are feeling is just in our heads.
I used to think I liked Mccain when he ran for President in 2000. Now I cannot find much I do like about him. His Straight Talk Express has run itself into a ditch. He reminds me more and more everyday of George Bush. Scary… One George Bush is more than this country can survive.
I am not saying Obama is perfect. As a matter of fact he has taken some positions (drilling for oil, nuclear power, illegal immigration) that I deeply disagree with. But I do think he can relate to the average Joe. Obama just recently payed off his and Michelle’s student loans and only recently bought a million dollar house due to the success of the books he has written. So, he has only recently become a part of the elitist class and could have done so earlier in life if he hadn’t chose the path of public service.
We are always voting between one elite or another. The difference is… Do they remember where they started from? Are they still in touch with the average guy?
I believe that Obama is in touch with the average guy and McCain is not.
I believe that Obama is in touch with the average guy and McCain is not.
Really? Based on what? Obama is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law. McCain went to the US Naval Academy. Your assertion that Obama only recently became “…a member of the elitist class and [he] could have done so earlier in life if he hadn’t chose the path of public service” is a specious argument. By your own argument, McCain chose the ultimate public service, that of serving in the military for which he was rewarded with 5 and a half years in a Vietnamese POW camp….which he could have gotten out of but he didn’t want to leave behind the other prisoners. What has Obama done to gain your respect?
I respect Obama because I respect his intellect and his ability to reason instead of delivering a bumper sticker message. Although, I fear that this is where things are headed because the majority of American people seem to respond better to a one liner.
I digress, the topic is elitism. McCain Married into elitism in 1980. That is 27 years of living very well. Not that there is anything wrong with that in of itself, but I feel that John McCain has lost his connection with the average Joe. He is not the only one I feel that way about. When Senator Clinton took a ride (photo op) with a blue collar worker to fill up his gas tank she couldn’t remember the last time she filled up her own tank. Whereas Sam Walton, after becoming quite wealthy from the success of Walmart still drove a station wagon. This doesn’t make one person better than another. It simply means that Sam Walton was more in touch with the average person than Senator Clinton and Senator McCain. Obama is part of the elite class, but only recently. Obama experienced very recently what it feels like to finally pay off a student loan. Until very recently he lived in a normal house. Obama is unusual for a candidate that makes it to the general election. The closest we will ever likely get to a modern day Abraham Lincoln. The election of 2004 and 2000 offered very elitist candidates from both parties. There is nothing wrong with that unless you would like someone who can truly relate to your average Joe problems. I think it would be very nice for a change.
You should be writing op-eds for some major newspaper, lady.
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Why partake of a dying medium?
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Hmmm… you have a point. OK. Maybe Kate should be on The View.
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Oh, hell no. I can’t stand that show. Not even for a minute. If I wanted to listen to four shrill women arguing and each trying to be louder than the other, well, I’d invite three of my female drinking buddies over and ask what they REALLY think about fellatio.
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