Housing Crisis? Obama--and the Press--Pounce On McCain for Forgetting How Many Homes He Owns

By: 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 ranking as the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.

Think John Kerry sailboarding or the president father, former President H.W. Bush, wowed by a grocery store checkout scanner, Michael Dukakis riding in a tank or Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on.

"I think ? I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico 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. Newsweek recently estimated the two owned at least seven properties.

[Tonight, Politico.com reported that its fresh analysis of property records revealed that McCain, in fact, owned eight homes -- beyond even the seven claimed by Democrats. A McCain spokesman did not deny it but said it was a non-issue. Politico also reported that the McCains increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain's tax returns. The additional cash supports an "increase in the number of employees," the McCain aide told Politico. The aide did not answer a question about whether the growing staff stemmed from addition of new properties to the family's real estate portfolio.]

Last week McCain cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year. With most Americans feeling the pinch of a worsening economy, the remarks allow Democrats to suggest that McCain cannot relate to ordinary voters.

It's also another example of how McCain, nearly 72, can be fuzzy and forgetful on some facts.

Campaigning in Chester, Virginia, Obama told voters, "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."

The Obama campaign also announced 16 campaign events across the country to highlight the comment and try to turn the tables on McCain's effort to cast him as an elitist.

While both sides are trying cast the other as too rich to understand the needs of the working class, it's all about image. In modern politics, presidential candidates don't struggle to pay the mortgage. They don't often stand in line at the grocery store or frequent tamale stands either ? unless accompanied by hoards of traveling reporters.

The truth is, neither candidate is hurting for money.

McCain's tax returns showed a total income of $405,409 in 2007. According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million. Her wealth is estimated by some at $100 million, based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship. She has not released her 2007 returns, which she files separately from her husband.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported making $4.2 million in 2007.

In the 2004 campaign, Republicans tried to use wealth against Kerry even though President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were multimillionaires themselves. In 2005, Kerry reported a net worth between $165 million and $235 million, most of it controlled by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.