The Elitist

“John McCain can’t remember how many houses he owns.”

-- Gov Tim Kaine (D-Va.)

If Obama seems disconnected from Middle America, what’s one to say about John McCain, who with his wife may have twelve houses? Even though Obama and his wife made $4 million over the past two years, the McCains seem to be richer. McCain appears unfocused on the economy issue, and Democrats are saying, “no wonder.”

If the economy is bad, and if world events allow the economy to be the issue that decides the election, McCain loses. Having too many houses helps him lose bigger.

I’m puzzled as to why McCain’s gaffe on his number of houses doesn’t just knock him out of the race right here and now. I’m getting it wrong, I think, because I'm an intellectual, not a working class voter. Working stiffs, as opposed to intellectuals, expect their leaders to be richer, so McCain’s houses aren’t so big an issue. What does matter is whether or not the candidates really understand working class problems, and more important, whether candidates have a way to fix them.

Since 1968, Republicans have understood the average voter worries about a government that takes more than it gives. Democrats are the party of government, and gain power when people believe government will give them more than it will take. 2008 seems such a time. That’s why it’s so important for Republicans to build mistrust in Obama’s true agenda. Obama being different from working class voters, not being one of them, is a worry. He may take from them to help some other group. McCain, for all his houses, seems to be a regular guy. Is Obama?