Posted on 08/21/2008 10:52:19 AM PDT by SJackson
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign may be drawing attention to their GOP rival John McCain’s multiple houses at their own peril.
Obama’s campaign has been trying to paint McCain as an “elitist” by criticizing the homes owns with his wife, Cindy. When asked by a Politico reporter how many homes he had, McCain deflected the question to his staff because he was unsure how many condominiums Cindy currently owned.
Obama and his supporters pounced on the story. At a stop in Chester, Virginia Obama said, "If you don’t know how many houses you have, it’s not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong.By the way, the answer is John McCain has seven homes. We can’t afford eight more years, or four more years, or one more year of the same failed economic policies that George Bush has put in place.” The Service Employees International Union followed suit by creating a web video titled “McCain’s Mansions” suggesting McCain is out of touch with American’s housing woes.
The McCain campaign is happily returning fire. “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?” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said Thursday.
The convicted felon Rogers referred to is Tony Rezko, who played a role in helping Obama expand the $1.65 million mansion Obama purchased $300,000 below the list price on Chicago’s South Side in 2005. Rezko's sister, Rita, coincidentally purchased land adjacent to the Obama's property on the same day, at the full list price, and later sold a parcel of it to the Obama's which made the Obama's yard bigger.
Before Obama bought the house he had assisted Rezko in securing millions of tax dollars for housing developments as an Illinois state legislator.
Rezko was convicted on 16 of 24 federal corruption counts earlier this year. The charges were unrelated to Obama, but drew attention to Obama’s cozy relationship with the felon. Obama told the press his decision to become involved with Rezko “a boneheaded move.”
Over the Fourth of July Weekend, the Washington Post revealed Obama had also secured a reduced mortgage for the same home, on top of the Rezko's discount, saving him more than $300 a month in mortgage payments. "Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois. The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago,” Post reporter Joe Stephens wrote.
Obama’s ties to shady mortgage deals extend beyond his own home, too.
Obama’s vice presidential “vetter” Jim Johnson, a former Fannie Mae CEO, also received a discount mortgage. Johnson was dismissed from the Obama campaign after details of his sweetheart mortgage deal were revealed to the public.
p0wn3d
How much more filth needs to be exposed on this POS, before his number fall in the polls significantly??
Obama is safely insulated by the double standard-Democrat corruption doesn’t count. It’s the inexcusable bias of the MSM that permits him to throw stones, secure in the knowledge that his hypocrisy will never be exposed by the lapdog media.
Rita ain't Tony's sister. She's his wife.
This Brian Rogers guy has been on a roll lately. He came out with a strong quote yesterday, too, the details of which elude me right now.
he also said this in the past:
“McCain spokesman Brian Rogers just fired back, on message, at Clark, a former Clinton backer who’s now with Obama:
If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to question John McCain’s military service, that’s their right. But let’s please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands for a new type of politics. The reality is he’s proving to be a typical politician who is willing to say anything to get elected, including allowing his campaign surrogates to demean and attack John McCain’s military service record.
where in DC does Obama maintain a residence for the days he actually works in the Senate?
I just hope this story has legs.
Well at least McCain knows how many states are in the union unlike dip-$hit.
What an awesome ad that would make
His supporters will just deny that it’s true.
Same with the infanticide issue.
Oh, go stand in line!
Questions of Patriotism Plagues Obama
Born Alive Vote Plagues Obama
Dropping poll numbers Plagues Obama
Skipping Troop Visit plagues Obama
Pastor Wright and Black Liberation Theology Plagues Obama
Questions around Birth Certificate Plagues Obama
Weather Underground connections Plagues Obama
Communist Endorsements Plagues Obama
Thinking there are 57 States Plagues Obama.....
This is old news that network news will not touch.
Ths man is scandslous and the msn is not reporting the news.
He also admits to doing concain! He is an admitted felon and zip from the press.
I think they want this potential muslim in the white house.
I am as sick of the press as I am of Obama.
I guess one could way that decision was above Hussein's pay grade.
And Peloski....?
Feinswine..? And Al Bore....with a toxic lake out back and a rental with a blocked toilet in front.
Yeah, I notice how many Demagogues said in 2004 that Jon Carry should not be elected b/c of all the homes that Ter-AY-za owns......
Hypocrisy, thy name is DEMAGOGUE scum.
B.O. has the use of the entire Rezko property not just the portion purchased. He does not have to pay the taxes on it just mow it and it is his.
Illinois politicians have a great penchent for being sent to jail. Almost all of them are Democrat. But no one here seems to care much. But a national party should be EXTREMELY wary of nominating any of these crooks to a national ticket. B.O. may well wind up in jail if he loses.
What is the pay for “Community Activist” aka Communist troublemaker these days? And is it tax free?
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