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How Many Homes Do You Own?
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stumblinmike
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Aug 22, 2008, 09:41 PM
 
I am currently paying a mortgage, so I really don't "own" my home, yet. I wonder how many regulars here own multiple homes, as residences or investments. Senator McCain is taking a lot of grief over this very issue.
     
ort888
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:21 PM
 
I'm not really sure.

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OldManMac
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:25 PM
 
He should take a lot of grief over it. He claims to be a maverick, when he is anything but, having used his wife's family's connections to get where he is today, while pretending that he's somehow one of the common folk.
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stevesnj
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:29 PM
 
Dont own a home...teachers pay is terrible...7 houses is a dream scenario for a majority of Americans. 1 home is a dream for a lot of Americans. Though his homes are most likely bought or owned by his VERY rich 2nd wife. But if they pay the mortgages on them good for them.
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Captain Obvious
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
He should take a lot of grief over it. He claims to be a maverick, when he is anything but, having used his wife's family's connections to get where he is today, while pretending that he's somehow one of the common folk.

Yes, and being an agent a change and political reform is quite often signaled by conducting shady real estate deals you couldn't otherwise afford with a man convicted federal crimes of political corruption. Of course they aren't that close despite the fact that same guy recruited Obama while he was still in law school for the law firm he just happened to end up working at. And the same man's political influence on his career wasn't at all substantial even if his financial contributions were the very first he garnered in his first run for public office.

McCain may not be familiar with all his uber wealthy wife's investments but that's probably because he was actually fulfilling his obligations as a political official rather than running for other offices for more than half his terms in Washington.

There's a mountain more evidence of McCain as a maverick than Obama as a reformist.

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Shaddim
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
He should take a lot of grief over it. He claims to be a maverick, when he is anything but, having used his wife's family's connections to get where he is today, while pretending that he's somehow one of the common folk.
*yawn*

He is common. In fact, he's a little too common. However, he's much better than the head-in-the-clouds (or his ass) alternative.

I own 2 houses; I live in one and rent out the other.
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Aug 22, 2008, 11:22 PM
 
The real answer isn't what surprises me. Some people have that much money. However, if he were quicker on his feet, he wouldn't have come up with an response that made him sound so idiotic and elitist at the same time.

P.S. I own part of a home. As you might have guessed, the bank owns the rest.
( Last edited by Eug; Aug 22, 2008 at 11:31 PM. )
     
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Aug 22, 2008, 11:33 PM
 
So it's bad for McCain to own multiple homes, but it's okay for Jr. Messiah to give less than 4% of his income to charity for the po' people he loves? At least McCain gives what, 28% to charity? Jr. Messiah has multiple properties, too, but he can do no wrong.
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besson3c
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Aug 22, 2008, 11:43 PM
 
There is no question that Obama is rich, that his political career has not been squeaky clean, etc. but on the other hand, it was McCain's campaign that decided to try the elitist and celebrity narrative on Obama, and clearly now this has exploded in their face. Sorry, but these are the sorts of penalties that you have to pay from time to time when you go the negative ad route, and this applies to Obama's campaign too.
     
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Aug 22, 2008, 11:45 PM
 
Why do so many of these sorts of "debates" between ordinary people like all of us end up sounding like they are debates between surrogates of the two campaigns? All the stuff that has been said here is just the same talking points that we hear from both campaigns. Don't let them use you as their mouthpiece, there are much more important things to be worried about anyway...

Has McCain demonstrated any grasp on the state of economy for you guys? He has gone on about earmark spending, but this only accounts for 1% of our debt. What else will he do to move us away from the unsustainable path we are on of spending far more than we earn? Do you think that his providing money to buy your own private health insurance will fix Medicaid and Medicare, and not contribute more to our debt?
     
Eug
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Aug 22, 2008, 11:53 PM
 
Originally Posted by RAILhead View Post
So it's bad for McCain to own multiple homes, but it's okay for Jr. Messiah to give less than 4% of his income to charity for the po' people he loves? At least McCain gives what, 28% to charity? Jr. Messiah has multiple properties, too, but he can do no wrong.
I guess you didn't read my post.

Nothing wrong with owning multiple homes. However, his response to the question suggests he isn't very nimble on his public speaking feet.
     
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
Yes, and being an agent a change and political reform is quite often signaled by conducting shady real estate deals you couldn't otherwise afford with a man convicted federal crimes of political corruption. Of course they aren't that close despite the fact that same guy recruited Obama while he was still in law school for the law firm he just happened to end up working at. And the same man's political influence on his career wasn't at all substantial even if his financial contributions were the very first he garnered in his first run for public office.

McCain may not be familiar with all his uber wealthy wife's investments but that's probably because he was actually fulfilling his obligations as a political official rather than running for other offices for more than half his terms in Washington.

There's a mountain more evidence of McCain as a maverick than Obama as a reformist.
Why don't you address the issue, instead of diverting it to Obama's alleged misdeeds?
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:32 AM
 
Doesn't really bother me that a presidential candidate owns 5 more properties than I, a common citizen. Big whoop.

Kerry "Man of the People" owned how many homes again?

Any of this is only relevant in the least to the class-envy crowd. It's a big yawner to everyone else.
     
D. S. Troyer
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
*yawn*



I own 2 houses; I live in one and rent out the other.
So you have one home.

The question was about homes not houses. There is a difference.

By the way McCain owns 2 condos, a townhouse and a ranch. These are his 4 homes where he lives when he's in that part of the country. I haven't the locations at the tip of my tongue. I do know his ranch is in Arizona. He also owns investment real estate but these are not his homes.
     
besson3c
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:36 AM
 
The only thing that is interesting about this is that this is exactly the tactic that the Bush campaign used against Kerry that was effective. McCain is trying the same thing, but it is backfiring because essentially he is in an almost identical position that Kerry was in: rich ass wife ripe for being painted as "out of touch" with the middle/poor class.
     
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:57 AM
 
I have two homes. I must be wealthy...

Oh yeah, I only make $7500/year.
     
stevesnj
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Aug 23, 2008, 01:06 AM
 
Originally Posted by D. S. Troyer View Post
So you have one home.

The question was about homes not houses. There is a difference.

By the way McCain owns 2 condos, a townhouse and a ranch. These are his 4 homes where he lives when he's in that part of the country. I haven't the locations at the tip of my tongue. I do know his ranch is in Arizona. He also owns investment real estate but these are not his homes.
If they are in his name they are his...investment or rentals or whatever.
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Aug 23, 2008, 01:18 AM
 
Actually, I am a little concerned with Obama. In the last two years he made $5,000,000.00 dollars and he only owns one house?

I bet he owns a ton of jet skis.
     
Chongo
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Aug 23, 2008, 07:19 AM
 
Did anyone ask John Kerry how many homes he and Theresa own? There's no telling how many Ted Kennedy owns. The Kennedys owns two compounds that I know of, one in Martha's Vineyard and the one down in Florida
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ebuddy
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Aug 23, 2008, 08:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
There is no question that Obama is rich, that his political career has not been squeaky clean, etc. but on the other hand, it was McCain's campaign that decided to try the elitist and celebrity narrative on Obama, and clearly now this has exploded in their face.
No, actually it was Hillary Clinton's campaign that started the elitist rhetoric and it didn't explode in her face. She was starting to gain ground, but didn't go negative early enough.

You can own multiple homes and remain in touch with common folk just as you can be a media-enveloped celebrity who owns only one home. You can be an average Joe who owns multiple homes. It is when you go out among common folk and tell them why they're clinging to guns and religion that defines a true elitist. I know this is tired for you, but you can't take back the man's true feelings just because it accidentally came out in public as a gaffe.

Sorry, but these are the sorts of penalties that you have to pay from time to time when you go the negative ad route, and this applies to Obama's campaign too.
It's just irrelevant dirt-digging and it won't have any traction whatsoever. There's a significant difference between McCain's wife and Theresa. Theresa was a flame-baiting media hound and a complete moron who was most apparently out of touch with the collective. She put it on display one too many times.
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Helmling
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Aug 23, 2008, 10:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by RAILhead View Post
So it's bad for McCain to own multiple homes, but it's okay for Jr. Messiah to give less than 4% of his income to charity for the po' people he loves? At least McCain gives what, 28% to charity? Jr. Messiah has multiple properties, too, but he can do no wrong.
I couldn't find anything to corroborate this claim of yours. I did find this, but who knows how accurate it is:

http://newsone.com/article/featured-...s-for-his-wife
     
Helmling
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Aug 23, 2008, 10:43 AM
 
Originally Posted by Railroader View Post
I have two homes. I must be wealthy...

Oh yeah, I only make $7500/year.
Seriously?
     
ebuddy
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Aug 23, 2008, 11:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by Helmling View Post
Seriously?
I was wondering the same thing.
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Aug 23, 2008, 11:58 AM
 
Originally Posted by Helmling View Post
Seriously?
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
I was wondering the same thing.
Well, I'll admit throwing my current income in was misleading.

I bought one house before I turned 30, worked for GM for 11 years from 24 to 35 years old. became a missionary, my wife and my salary is a combined $15k/yr. I recently bought a small vacation cabin in the middle of the wood in the UP of Michigan. It doesn't have running water or electricity, but it is a home we use a couple months a year. We stay a few days a month in the other house we own because it is close to family and not financially advantageous to sell right now.

We currently live in a house the missionary organization provides, so technically you could say we keep three homes, but only own two.
     
ghporter
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:09 PM
 
I'm in the same mortgage position as the OP, but thi sis the third home I've "bought." No, I haven't paid off any mortgage without having sold the house. That will change in the next few years; when I finish school I should be "quite well paid" and the first thing we're doing is aggressively paying down the mortgage. Frankly, I can't see my family "needing" multiple homes. We like living here or we wouldn't have moved here, and when we travel, much of the draw of it is the accommodations, not the hope of living "at home." I guess we're "simple folk."

As for McCain having multiple homes, does he actually use them for any significant part of the year? Aside from the "home-home" and "Washington-home" thing most congresscritters have going, what's the real issue with it?

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besson3c
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
No, actually it was Hillary Clinton's campaign that started the elitist rhetoric and it didn't explode in her face. She was starting to gain ground, but didn't go negative early enough.

You can own multiple homes and remain in touch with common folk just as you can be a media-enveloped celebrity who owns only one home. You can be an average Joe who owns multiple homes. It is when you go out among common folk and tell them why they're clinging to guns and religion that defines a true elitist. I know this is tired for you, but you can't take back the man's true feelings just because it accidentally came out in public as a gaffe.


It's just irrelevant dirt-digging and it won't have any traction whatsoever. There's a significant difference between McCain's wife and Theresa. Theresa was a flame-baiting media hound and a complete moron who was most apparently out of touch with the collective. She put it on display one too many times.
So there is nothing wrong with being a social class elitist, but being an intellectual elitist is bad? Huh?

This argument is stupid. Not just yours, but the very concept. We want intellectual elites. Intellectual = good. Most politicians are social class elites. They are all out of touch with the working class.

My point was that when you play the game of calling people others things that you are yourself, it can backfire. I didn't mean to get into a game of finger pointing of who is elite, who is more elite, etc. I don't care.
     
besson3c
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I'm in the same mortgage position as the OP, but thi sis the third home I've "bought." No, I haven't paid off any mortgage without having sold the house. That will change in the next few years; when I finish school I should be "quite well paid" and the first thing we're doing is aggressively paying down the mortgage. Frankly, I can't see my family "needing" multiple homes. We like living here or we wouldn't have moved here, and when we travel, much of the draw of it is the accommodations, not the hope of living "at home." I guess we're "simple folk."

As for McCain having multiple homes, does he actually use them for any significant part of the year? Aside from the "home-home" and "Washington-home" thing most congresscritters have going, what's the real issue with it?

There isn't much to it. The only significance to it is that the celebrity narrative was the only thing that the McCain campaign could come up with that stuck to the wall, so far. Now, it has essentially backfired on them, taking away this ammo.
     
tie
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:43 PM
 
I have at least four homes, but I'm not really sure. I also have a few condos. Don't even ask how many cars I own!

McCain's often a bit of a dolt.
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
So there is nothing wrong with being a social class elitist, but being an intellectual elitist is bad? Huh?
Huh, indeed.

Who the hell is supposed to be the "intellectual" in all of this?
     
ebuddy
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Aug 23, 2008, 01:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
So there is nothing wrong with being a social class elitist, but being an intellectual elitist is bad? Huh?
"Elite" and "elitist" are two different things. Elitist in any form is bad.

This argument is stupid. Not just yours, but the very concept. We want intellectual elites. Intellectual = good. Most politicians are social class elites. They are all out of touch with the working class.
See above. It is one thing to be among the elite. It is another thing entirely to be elitist.

My point was that when you play the game of calling people others things that you are yourself, it can backfire. I didn't mean to get into a game of finger pointing of who is elite, who is more elite, etc. I don't care.
My point was Clinton did it and it didn't back-fire. You went on to mention something to the effect of comparing Mrs. McCain to Mrs. Kerry. So... you made a play on an argument, then claim after someone points out why you're mistaken that you don't care? Just checkin'.
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Aug 23, 2008, 05:35 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
He should take a lot of grief over it. He claims to be a maverick, when he is anything but, having used his wife's family's connections to get where he is today, while pretending that he's somehow one of the common folk.
I don't think he's ever pretended to be one of the "common folk." That would be Obama.

McCain isn't one of the common folk, he was born to Navy royalty. And yet he chose to spend his life in public service, pretty much. And he continuously goes against straight party votes.

Heck, he was the darling of the left for most of the last 10 years. Folks speculated that he would defect to the Dems. Now that he's running for president, he's some kind of Nazi. Not before.

ON TOPIC:

I don't own ANY houses, I'm buying them on time. The Subprime mess should get that point across pretty well for folks. And I'm buying TWO on time, a small home and a vacation shack. We chose to have two mortgages for less than we could afford rather than one big mortgage that we couldn't afford (when you live on the Hurricane Coast, you have to make sacrifices).
     
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Aug 23, 2008, 05:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
He should take a lot of grief over it. He claims to be a maverick, when he is anything but, having used his wife's family's connections to get where he is today, while pretending that he's somehow one of the common folk.
I fail to see why that should even be an issue. So he got lucky and found a wife that is wealthy? I wish I could.
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Aug 23, 2008, 07:25 PM
 
She shouldn't be wealthy -- she should have given her money away to help the needy just like Jr Messiah... oh wait...
"Everything's so clear to me now: I'm the keeper of the cheese and you're the lemon merchant. Get it? And he knows it.
That's why he's gonna kill us. So we got to beat it. Yeah. Before he let's loose the marmosets on us."
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Aug 23, 2008, 07:46 PM
 
Dumb comment from McCain, but his response was quick and effective. In a few weeks no one will even consider this topic.

I have no houses, live in an apt... still waiting for the market to bottom out
     
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Aug 23, 2008, 09:15 PM
 
I'll have to have my staff get back to you on that.

(having a lot of properties is one thing -- not having the faintest clue how many is a whole nuther deal)

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Aug 23, 2008, 10:23 PM
 
It's interesting that the right went after Kerry like vultures, for having a rich wife, excoriating him for marrying into wealth and not being a so called self made man, but now that one of their own came from almost nowhere thanks to his rich wife, it's perfectly okay.
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Aug 23, 2008, 10:46 PM
 
The other significance of this is that if the McCain super rich narrative ends up being effective, he'll probably not want to pick Mitt Romney for his VP.
     
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Aug 23, 2008, 11:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
It's interesting that the right went after Kerry like vultures, for having a rich wife, excoriating him for marrying into wealth and not being a so called self made man, but now that one of their own came from almost nowhere thanks to his rich wife, it's perfectly okay.
Compare & contrast John Edwards' haircut vs. John McCain's shoes.

It's okay if you're a Republican, kind of like it's not against the law for the president to do it, because he can declare anything he likes legal, then do it, therefore it's impossible for the president to break the law. If he's a Republican.

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Aug 23, 2008, 11:56 PM
 
Republicans aren't generally the ones running around pretending to be "for the little guy" and "out to get those evil rich people" while themselves being beyond filthy rich. That bullcrap doesn't usually fly with rank and file Republicans who dont' really give a good crap how much money a Republican politician has in the first place, let alone want them to spend all their time getting even with other successful people.

It's Democrats that buy into the nonsense of the multi-millionaire /billionaire "common man" who feels the poor people's pain and is out to get the rich folk.

Now granted, McCain's a RiNO, so the case could be made that he deserves the same muckraking as Kerry got for marrying up.
     
tie
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Aug 24, 2008, 03:42 AM
 
Of course Republicans are running around pretending to be "for the little guy." What are you talking about?

Do you know how many homes you own, Crash? If not, can you give me an estimate, say within a factor of ten?

We need a fifty-page thread on how much energy McCain is using at all his houses. Somebody would have to count them first, though.

Originally Posted by finboy
Heck, he was the darling of the left for most of the last 10 years. Folks speculated that he would defect to the Dems. Now that he's running for president, he's some kind of Nazi. Not before.
Your timeline isn't right. He became "some kind of Nazi" with his unfailing support for Bush, in Iraq, after Hurricane Katrina, in torture, etc.
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Aug 24, 2008, 09:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
It's interesting that the right went after Kerry like vultures, for having a rich wife, excoriating him for marrying into wealth and not being a so called self made man, but now that one of their own came from almost nowhere thanks to his rich wife, it's perfectly okay.
I think it's important to point out that being an Annapolis graduate and retiring as a Navy captain don't exactly constitute "should I go ahead and grab that job at McDonalds?" Getting INTO Annapolis is quite difficult and often indicates at least a well-connected, if not well to do family.

Retiring as a captain (an O-6) is not bad pocket change; the current retired pay for a retiree at that rank, with McCain's length of service is over $4750 per month (taxable, but the VA also has a hand in this; he's probably eligible for a substantial tax break on that). All he has to do for this $57,000 annual pay is to keep breathing... Add his speaking fees (even while still on active duty he could earn a hefty fee for speaking about his POW experiences), and he's "doing quite well" on his own. Then add in his pay as a senator and you're talking REAL money.

So even if he married a well off or even rich woman, that's probably more to do with his existing social stratum rather than, like Kerry, "marrying up."

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Aug 24, 2008, 10:02 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I think it's important to point out that being an Annapolis graduate and retiring as a Navy captain don't exactly constitute "should I go ahead and grab that job at McDonalds?" Getting INTO Annapolis is quite difficult and often indicates at least a well-connected, if not well to do family.

Retiring as a captain (an O-6) is not bad pocket change; the current retired pay for a retiree at that rank, with McCain's length of service is over $4750 per month (taxable, but the VA also has a hand in this; he's probably eligible for a substantial tax break on that). All he has to do for this $57,000 annual pay is to keep breathing... Add his speaking fees (even while still on active duty he could earn a hefty fee for speaking about his POW experiences), and he's "doing quite well" on his own. Then add in his pay as a senator and you're talking REAL money.

So even if he married a well off or even rich woman, that's probably more to do with his existing social stratum rather than, like Kerry, "marrying up."
His wife's money and connections is what started him on the road to a political career. He had no desire to be a politician before he met her, and he got extensive help from her father and his connections in building a base of support. There's also the matter of him dumping his first wife after a bad car crash and marrying his current wife very shortly thereafter. He's just another sneaky politician, who tells people what they want to hear, and then changes the story when he believes it's convenient.
Why is there always money for war, but none for education?
     
chris v
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Aug 24, 2008, 01:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by finboy View Post

Heck, he was the darling of the left for most of the last 10 years. Folks speculated that he would defect to the Dems. Now that he's running for president, he's some kind of Nazi. Not before.
.
Here's about where my speculation ended:

When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. -- Jonathan Swift.
     
besson3c
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Aug 24, 2008, 01:39 PM
 
That looks like delicious cake.
     
pcryan5
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Aug 24, 2008, 01:39 PM
 
I own 26/300th of my house!

     
spacefreak
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Aug 24, 2008, 02:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
So there is nothing wrong with being a social class elitist, but being an intellectual elitist is bad? Huh?
Elitist is an attitude, not an economic status. What you're trying desperately to do is to label successful persons as elitists. Bad form.

I have no problems with the Obama attack. However, I do take issue with the media's coordination with the Obama campaign on the attack. Obama's campaign had already prepared their media, and the press was way too willing to set up the McCain exchange in order to help the Obama campaign. That doesn't sit well with me.
     
spacefreak
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Aug 24, 2008, 03:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by tie View Post
Do you know how many homes you own, Crash? If not, can you give me an estimate, say within a factor of ten?
THe problem is, they asked him how many he and his wife owned. If I was asked how many homes me and my mother own (I'm not married yet), I'd likely get the answer wrong.

My mother owns one home that she is selling, another home that she just bought, and she has helped my brother and sister by co-signing their house/condo purchases.

I think she has 4. Might be only 2, and maybe soon to be one (if her old house sells). I've thought about buying her old house from her - privately if possible - so that might make her ultimate number 2? or 4? or 3?

My mother could probably give you an up-to-the-moment, definitive answer on how many houses she owns. Myself, brother, sister, others... we could very well be wrong depending on our differing assumptions.

My point - I'm sure that Mrs. McCain could have given a solid answer. I think John McCain had an idea, but didn't want to get the answer wrong. No matter what he said, the Obama campaign had the media attack prepared and ready to go.
     
ort888
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Aug 25, 2008, 02:13 PM
 

My sig is 1 pixel too big.
     
Shaddim
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Aug 25, 2008, 05:04 PM
 
Bought another house today, for ~40% under current market value (which is considerably less than 2 years ago). It needs a bit of work, so I'm going to let my cousin live there and fix various things in lieu of rent and utilities. He's a professional carpenter/handyman, so I think it's a fair exchange.

So, that makes 3.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
CRASH HARDDRIVE
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Aug 25, 2008, 11:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by tie View Post
Of course Republicans are running around pretending to be "for the little guy." What are you talking about?
Not real ones.

Do you know how many homes you own, Crash? If not, can you give me an estimate, say within a factor of ten?
I fail to see where it's such a big deal. The fact that he didn't know off the top of his head could be taken as it's not something he's obsessed with. In fact, I'm willing to bet had he answered "7", every other Dem shill would have some other canned response to try and make a big deal out of that too.


We need a fifty-page thread on how much energy McCain is using at all his houses. Somebody would have to count them first, though.
That'd be valid if McCain made a side career out of preaching the sky is falling, and railing against everyone's energy use... while using more energy than most everyone else.
     
 
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