Thursday, August 21, 2008

Just Another Homeless Vietnam Vet

NOT!
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.
Imagine having so many homes that you need "staff" to keep track of them. Then imagine that you have so many that the staff isn't actually sure, and has to tell reporters "at least" four. As if it might be more. (It probably is. By this afternoon, reasonable estimates were seven or eight.)

In McCain's defense, it's not clear that he actually owns any houses, because so much of his finances are in his wife Cindy's name. Cindy's finances are as complex as you might expect from a millionaire heiress, with a variety of trusts and corporations (implemented by clever tax attorneys I'm sure.)

Whatever the number of properties, they are numerous enough to require some upkeep. The McCains' pay more for household staff, $273,000, than most households in the country make in a year.

(In fact, in large parts of the country, the McCains' household budget would pay for a pretty nice house all by itself.)

To me, though, the number of houses and the wealth aren't the issue, it's the way McCain didn't have an answer to the question. Was it another senior moment? Did he just not think his pals in the media would ever ask him? How is it that he doesn't know the answer, and couldn't come up with a less stumbling answer?

One of the most important qualities I want in a President is the ability to keep track of important details, particularly in a crisis. I want someone who'll be able to call his cabinet people on their mistakes, because he'll remember what the report said. And, in summit meeting with Putin or some other heavyweight, I want someone who is deft enough to come up with a reasonable non-answer without having to rely on his staff to know everything. (And Joe Lieberman won't always be there to keep him straight on who is who in Iraq.)

Frankly, I'm surprised that, given the number of other things he's been willing to boldly lie about in the course of this campaign, he didn't just pick a number and brazen it out. Once the story moved on later, to arguments about whether that was a correct number, it could be lost in the mishmash of details about family trusts, what does "own" mean, etc., etc.

But the idea that John McCain doesn't even know the number? That he's so out of touch?

Thanks, John. We needed a nice lead-in story to provide momentum for the convention!