Housing Brawl Erupts Between Obama, McCain

Housing was expected to be a significant issue in the presidential campaign but most pundits thought the focus would be the foreclosure crisis, not the candidates' homes. Sen. John McCain, in an interview with the Politico several days ago, couldn't recall how many houses he owns. Democrats pounced. ABC World News said Obama "and the Democrats smell blood in the water. And they're using the quote to paint McCain as out of touch." Obama said, "If you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong. But if you're like me, and you 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." The CBS Evening News reports Obama is up with an ad on the subject, which shows a picture of the White House and says, "Seven houses, and here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into." CBS adds that McCain's "housing advantage could complicate attempts to cast Obama, who owns one million-dollar home in Chicago himself, as an out-of-touch, arugula-eating elitist."

ABC World News adds the Obama campaign thinks "this is one of those metaphorical moments in the campaign. Remember back in 1992, when it seemed like President Bush didn't know what a supermarket scanner was. They said that was metaphoric for him being out of touch. ... The McCain team says no way. The John McCain brand is too well-established. No one will see him as an elitist." The AP reports Obama "launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch."

NBC Nightly News reports that the McCain campaign hit right back, bringing up Obama's links to convicted felon Tony Rezko. NBC reported the McCain campaign said, "Does a guy who made more than $4million last year...and bought his one million dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?'" Similarly, the Washington Post reports on its front page that the Obama ad "provoked a furious response by McCain campaign and Republican National Committee aides, who charged hypocrisy and argued that the senator from Illinois had received help purchasing his South Side Chicago mansion from" Rezko.

McCain's troops are looking to turn the Rezko issue into a full-blown offensive. The Politico reports that the McCain campaign launched a website dedicated to Obama's links to Rezko, while they also rolled out an ad featuring Rezko. ABC News reported on its 'Political Radar' blog, "The McCain campaign is not disclosing how much money it is planning to put behind its Rezko ad but vows that it will air on broadcast television in 'key states.'" However, the AP reports the McCain campaign will put $2.8 million behind the ad campaign.

McCain Family Owns Eight Properties So how many properties does McCain, in fact, own? The Politico reports 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." McCain "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 wife, Cindy, own. Sen. McCain himself does not own any of the properties. They're all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control."

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For more information:

SEE OBAMA'S HOUSING PLAN

SEE MCCAIN'S HOUSING PLAN

Possible discussion topics:

Do you think that the number of houses that a candidate owns is important to the election?

Do you think that a candidate that owns eight homes is "out of touch" with the average American citizens' financial problems?

Do you think that Barak Obama making 4 million dollars last year makes him "out of touch" with the average American citizen's financial problems?

Historically, presidents have mostly been wealthy white men. Why do you think that is?

Why would it be difficult for a regular middle class person to run for president?
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