Another must-read article

Once again McCain has gone out of his way to prove just how distorted his views of real life in America really are. In the midst of the subprime mortgage meltdown, skyrocketing foreclosures, severely declining home sales and prices, and sharply reduced credit availability that has both home buyers and students scrambling, McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns? Gee, I feel lucky to say Hubby and I own one, along with the bank. Lucky because a lot of homeowners can't say that anymore, those who have had their homes taken away by foreclosure after being drawn into risky loans they couldn't actually afford.

I feel lucky to be able to work part time at a wonderful nonprofit while going to school full time. Hubby and I live very simply, but we manage to make ends meet. Many American families can't say that. Wages are either flat or declining, while prices on everything from milk to bread to gas to school supplies are sharply up. Each month gets a little tighter, till some families get caught in the squeeze and fall behind, and then what? Well bankruptcy isn't nearly as much of an option as it used to be, thanks to Bu--sh-- letting the banking industry rewrite the bankruptcy laws. Whoops, sorry, this rant was supposed to be about McCain but sometimes it's hard to keep the two separate. Anyway, millions of American families are scrounging to make it from month to month, while McCain says that his definition of "rich" is making over $5 million a year.

One more point: when American families are struggling to fill their gas tanks and fridges and buy back-to-school clothes, McCain is running around campaigning in $500 shoes. I don't think every pair of shoes in my closet added together cost that much. I'd be embarassed to pay that much for something like shoes, and even more embarassed to have others know that's what I did. Those shoes cost more than we spend in a month on groceries! Wonder how many pairs he has?

Wait a minute, there's a McCain ad on tv right now, claiming McCain is "the original maverick". What does that mean, anyway? I'd like to pin him down to explain that. Sure it sounds impressive, but what does it mean? As far as McCain being "ready to lead", he's only ready to lead the people of this country, lemming-like, over a cliff. The problem is that too many people are swallowing his propaganda. Wake up, people! Ask questions, demand answers, and don't settle for flag-waving and slick rhetoric!

All right, enough of my rant. Here's the article I promised, excerpted from the Huffington Post. Enjoy. Get mad. Demand change.

Peace,
AuntieM

Nico Pitney
pitney@huffingtonpost.com HuffPost Reporting From DC
McCain Doesn't Remember How Many Houses He Owns
August 21, 2008 09:32 AM

"John McCain said in an interview with Politico on 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 said. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you."
The answer, according to the group Progressive Accountability, is an even 10 homes, ranches, condos, and lofts, together worth a combined estimated $13,823,269.
John and Cindy McCain own a plethora of houses spread throughout the United States, including: two beachfront condos in Coronado, California, condo in La Jolla, California, a two-unit condominium complex in Phoenix, Arizona, three ranch houses located outside of Sedona, Arizona, a high-rise condo in Arlington, Virginia, a rental loft, and, according to GQ, a loft they bought for their daughter, Meghan.
As Politico notes, McCain's comments are a serious potential gaffe, as they dovetail with an increasingly aggressive effort to paint the GOP nominee as wildly out of touch on economic issues.
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.
Pro-Obama labor groups have sent out mailers highlighting McCain's wealth, and prominent Democrats have included references to it in comments to reporters.
Twice in the past two weeks, those Democrats have focused on McCain's houses.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Politico's Ben Smith that it was McCain "who wears $500 shoes, has six houses and comes from one of the richest families in his state."
And David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, referred in an interview with Adam Nagourney of The New York Times to an imagined meeting of McCain strategists "on the portico of the McCain estate in Sedona -- or maybe in one of his six other houses."

McCain's comments came four days after he initially told Pastor Rick Warren during a faith forum on Sunday his threshold for considering someone rich is $5 million -- a careless comment he quickly corrected.”

(Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself. Here’s the link to this article and to the videos so you can see exactly what McCain said. )
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/21/mccain-doesnt-know-how-ma_n_120322.html