WORLD> America
|
WORLD> America
|
|
Obama raps McCain for ignorance of his own houses
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-22 14:41 WASHINGTON - John McCain may have created his own housing crisis. Hours after a report that the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting didn't know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.
With the economy the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.
"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told the Politico online site when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you." Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states - Arizona, California and Virginia. Property records reviewed by The Associated Press show McCain and his family appear to own at least eight homes: A ranch and two condos in Arizona; three condos in Coronado, Calif.; a condo in La Jolla, Calif.; and another in Arlington, Va. The number of houses is a bit trickier to determine since the ranch has at least four houses and a two-story cabin on it. Last week McCain cracked that being rich in the US meant earning at least $5 million a year. His latest comments gave Democrats an opportunity to suggest that McCain cannot relate to ordinary voters. Campaigning in Chester, Va., Obama said: "I guess if you think being rich means you've got to make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have, it's not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong." He returned to the McCain remark later, saying of teachers: "Most teachers hold themselves accountable. They didn't go into teaching to make money. They don't have seven houses." |
|||||
