How did a vulnerable McCain camp rebut attacks about the Repbulican's inadequate real estate knowledge? Drudging up his military service, of course. Because the two are very related.
[Spokesman Brian Rogers] also added: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War.
But that defense wasn't enough for the campaign. They've also decided to attack Obama over his past dealings with convicted political fundraiser Tony Rezko. Politico's Jonathan Martin notes that the McCain camp has released swaths of opposition research on this front, including the following nugget:
Obama Paid $300,000 Less Than The Asking Price For His Mansion, While Tony Rezko's Wife Paid Full Price For A Vacant Lot Next Door On The Very Same Day. "Two years ago, Obama bought a mansion on the South Side, in the Kenwood neighborhood, from a doctor. On the same day, [Antoin 'Tony'] Rezko's wife, Rita Rezko, bought the vacant lot next door from the same seller. The doctor had listed the properties for sale together. He sold the house to Obama for $300,000 below the asking price. The doctor got his asking price on the lot from Rezko's wife." (Tim Novak, "Obama And His Rezko Ties," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/23/07)
It's the same old suggestion: by purchasing the adjacent lot for the full price, the Rezkos allegedly helped the Obamas save $300,000 on the actual house. Unfortunately, it isn't just the McCain campaign advancing the claim these days. Earlier this week, CNN reported that Rezko "enable[d] Obama to buy his house at $300,000 below the asking price."
In response, Media Matters cited a Bloomberg News report that "[t]he couple who sold Barack Obama his Chicago home said the Illinois senator's $1.65 million bid 'was the best offer' and they didn't cut their asking price because a campaign donor bought their adjacent land, according to e-mails between Obama's presidential campaign and the seller." Read our more thorough debunking of this pervasive myth here.
(H/T Washington Independent)
markg8 on Fri, 08/22/2008 - 14:25
A noun, a verb P.O.W.! won't work for McCain any better than a noun, a verb, 9/11! worked for Guiliani.
It's like we're supposed to vote for him because we feel sorry for the wounds he suffered and his time in the POW camp. The presidency is too big a job to elect a candidate out of pity. And it's too big a job for John McCain.
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