McCain called out on houses

Unable to say how many he and wife own

Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia appeared with Senator Barack Obama during a town hall meeting yesterday in Chester, Va. (STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Senator Barack Obama, trying on a more populist appeal for size, jumped all over Republican rival John McCain yesterday for admitting that he did not know how many houses he and his wife Cindy own.

When asked by the Politico.com, McCain responded, "I think - I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."

His campaign later told Politico, according to its account posted yesterday, that he has 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 properties, including some as investments.)

Obama, who had already been needling McCain for joshing that it would take $5 million a year to be truly rich, quickly sought to use McCain's slip-up as more evidence that the Arizona senator is out of touch with the struggles of ordinary families.

"I guess if you think that being rich means you've got to make $5 million, and if you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong," Obama, sounding incredulous, told voters in Virginia yesterday.

"But if you're like me, and you've 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. . . . So there's just a fundamental gap of understanding between John McCain's world and what people are going through every single day here in America."

McCain's campaign responded by vowing to hammer Obama on his ties to Tony Rezko, a friend and former fund-raiser who was convicted in June on more than a dozen federal corruption charges. Rezko was involved in a deal on the Chicago home that Obama bought in 2005 for $1.65 million. No wrongdoing has been proven in the house deal, and Obama has said it was a mistake to work with Rezko.

"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?" McCain spokesman Brian Rogers asked in a statement.

"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 was off the campaign trail yesterday, spending the day filming an ad at his Sedona, Ariz., retreat.

But later yesterday, the Republican National Committee followed through on his campaign's threat, launching a website full of videos and news accounts of Obama's "lack of judgment and questionable dealings" with Rezko. Later yesterday, McCain launched a TV ad of his own on Obama's relationship with Rezko. "Now, he's a convicted felon, facing jail," the announcer says. "That's a housing problem."

The retaliation did not stop Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee from going all out to hype the McCain houses issue.

Obama immediately launched a TV ad on national cable, saying that McCain owns seven houses worth a total of $13 million and seems oblivious to the foreclosure crisis. The ad ends with a picture of the White House and the announcer saying: "Here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into."

Also, the Obama campaign organized events across the country with surrogates bashing McCain. And the DNC went as far as to put together a webpage, titled "Luxury Real Estate Guide: McCain's Houses." It shows a character resembling the Travelocity gnome with images of the locations, estimated values, and other "fun facts" about McCain's homes.

McCain initially opened himself up to Democrats' attacks in a forum on faith Saturday night with the Rev. Rick Warren. McCain was asked to define the word "rich" and give a figure. "I think if you are just talking about income, how about $5 million?" McCain replied, prompting the audience to chuckle.

Obama, asked the same question, said those making $250,000 and higher are in the top 3 percent to 4 percent and "doing well." Both presidential hopefuls, however, have incomes far beyond the vast majority of Americans.

McCain reported an income of $405,409 in 2007. His wife Cindy reported $6 million in income.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, said in their tax return that they earned $4.2 million last year.