"Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people "cling" to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who’s in touch with regular Americans?
"The reality is that Barack Obama’s plans to raise taxes and opposition to producing more energy here at home as gas prices skyrocket show he’s completely out of touch with the concerns of average Americans." --McCain spokesman Brian Rogers
I thought it would be fun/interesting to pull apart this desperate McCain campaign response to Obama's new campaign ad calling out McCain on the fact that he "doesn't recall" how many homes he owns. Let's see...
- "...made more than $4 million last year..." - well, I have to admit that I'm not fully versed on the salaries for U.S. Senators, but I bet it's not too shabby, i.e. by the standards of those of us who don't even make $50K annually. And speaking of +$50K annually, Obama doesn't mooch off his rich, heiress wife, and DEFINITELY doesn't supplement said mooching with $58,000 in disability payments from the American taxpayers.
So he made some money. Big deal. He wrote a successful book. Is McCain maybe a little bitter that his book didn't fare as well???
Besides, $4 million falls well beneath McCain's threshold of $5 million to be considered 'rich'.
- "...just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii..." - McCain should know better! In a place as foreign as Hawaii, things like private beaches aren't as expensive as they are here in the U.S.! Just ask Cokie!
Again, so he made some money. The caveat to that is 'HE MADE', or more to the point 'he earned'. He didn't marry for it... Besides, do the Obamas actually own said private beach? Private beaches can be a tricky thing...
- "...bought his own million-dollar mansion..." - notice the conspicuous lack of an "s" on mansion. Obama KNOWS how many houses he has...
- "...with the help of a convicted felon..." - Are you serious, McCain?!?!? Rezko wasn't convicted of anything at the time that Obama bought the house through him. And all campaign monies coming from Rezko and people tied to Rezko have been returned. How are you doing returning that money from 'questionable donors' connected to oil companies???
- "...a guy who worries about the price of arugula..." - Let's see...it seems to me that a man who worries about the price of food seems to understand why American's are hurting in the Bush economy. But, by all means, let's do some more (see: private Hawaiian beach) to play up the 'foreign' meme.
- "...and thinks that regular people "cling" to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship..." - Senator McCain, what exactly would you know about the effects of economic hardship on regular people? But thank you for rehashing old crap. We can continue ignoring you now...
- "...Barack Obama's plans to raise taxes..." - The quote should continue "on the rich and on the oil companies", but McCain doesn't want people to realize that...
- "...and opposition to producing more energy here at home as gas prices skyrocket..." - If by "opposition to producing more energy here at home" you mean being opposed to using Yucca Mountain as a toxic waste dump, you're right. If you mean plans for wind and other renewable energy sources, you're right.
As far as gas prices skyrocketing, when was the last time any of you felt the pain at the pump?
- "...show he's completely out of touch with the concerns of average Americans." - Yep, a guy who worries about food prices, remembers that he only has ONE residence and has worked hard to earn what he has is certainly a world away from the vast majority of Americans who marry heiresses, have credit card bills to the tune of $700,000 in a month, can't remember how many homes they own, and walk around in $500 Italian shoes...
UPDATE #1 - I forgot to mention that all this bullshit is OK as far as the McCain campaign is concerned.
"Let me be clear - I'm NOT questioning Senator Obama's patriotism. I'm questioning his judgement."
Senator McCain, after today, do you REALLY wanna have a debate about judgement?!?!
But I suppose it's OK to attack everything else about your opponent, so long as you don't question his patriotism or call him an Uppity Negro...
UPDATE #2 - And now McCain is hiding behind his POW status...AGAIN! It's unfair to attack him - especially if it's credible and it works - because he was a POW all those years ago and deserves to be honored for his service.
Senator McCain, the POW argument would be much more effective if you weren't using it as a shield every time your opponent lands a punch.