Obama sharpens attack on McCain
CHESTER, Virginia (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama attacked Republican John McCain on Thursday for not knowing how many houses he owns and said it proves his presidential rival is out of touch with the economic struggles of most Americans.
Obama said during a campaign swing through the battleground state of Virginia that he had made up his mind on a vice presidential running mate but gave no hints on who it would be as he shifted the focus to McCain and the economy.
Expanding on a new Democratic line of attack, Obama questioned the lifestyle of McCain and his wife, Cindy. In an interview on Wednesday with the Politico newspaper, the Arizona senator was asked how many houses he owns with his wife, a wealthy heiress to a beer distributorship.
"I think -- I'll have my staff get to you," McCain replied. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you." The Politico said McCain's staff counted "at least" four houses, although other media reports found at least seven.
Obama noted McCain said in a forum on faith last week that making $5 million was his definition of a someone who was rich, and that McCain said on Wednesday the economy was "fundamentally strong."
"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," said Obama, an Illinois senator.
"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."
MCCAIN FIRES BACK
Obama's house in the affluent Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park is worth more than $1.5 million, and McCain's campaign was quick to mock the idea of Obama as a middle-class everyman.
"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?" asked McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.
The McCain campaign launched a Web site detailing Obama's relationship to convicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, a former fundraiser for Obama who helped him buy a lot adjoining his house.
Rezko was convicted of fraud, attempted bribery and money laundering in June in a corruption case that did not involve Obama, who has severed connections with Rezko.
The economy has become the centerpiece of the tightening November 4 presidential election battle, with polls showing it is the top issue in a close race.
Republicans and McCain have pounded Obama for months as an elitist, but Democrats have turned the tables in the past few weeks by noting McCain's many houses and his taste for $500 shoes.
The Obama campaign sent surrogates into more than a dozen states to discuss McCain's comments on his houses, and jumped on the issue with a 30-second television ad.
"When asked how many houses he owns, McCain lost track. He couldn't remember. It's seven," the ad's narrator says. As the screen shows the White House, he adds, "And here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into."
Obama said he had made up his mind on his vice presidential pick, which is expected to be announced in the next two days. The Democratic National Convention in Denver opens on Monday.
"I've made the selection," Obama told reporters in Emporia, Virginia. "That's all you're going to get."
He campaigned on Thursday with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, one of the reported finalists for the job, and met with him for 15 minutes in a hotel before they bused to the Chester event together.
Kaine joined the criticism of McCain, telling CNN, "He couldn't count high enough, apparently, to even know how many houses he owned." McCain was taking the day off at his ranch in Sedona, Arizona.
(Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Peter Cooney)
