A housing issue: McCain not sure how many they own

So is this the same way he will run or manage the White House? He won't know what's going on? Someone else will handle it for him? Does this make him an elitist too? I mean the average American doesn't own so many homes that they don't know how many they own.

Not bad just totally out of touch with what is happening in the Country today.

That didn't make those customers stupid or doddering; they just relied on others to handle those things for them. Big deal.

So is this the same way he will run or manage the White House? He won't know what's going on? Someone else will handle it for him?

I'd much rather McCain bring in someone with competency to run the White House behind the scenes instead of giving the reins to the world's only superpower to someone with an apparent biological lack of long-term memory.

Lin: So is this the same way he will run or manage the White House? _______________________________________________
The President doesn't "run the White House", he has staff that runs the White House. Presidents have administrations, they have advisors, they have people on staff who are experts in various fields. Presidents do not do everything by themselves.

I don't like McCain. I don't like Obama, either. But some of the things that people come up with on both "sides" of this issue to fool the (sometimes ignorant) American into thinking something is wrong when it isn't is just ridiculous.

If this dude can't keep track of his own house(s) how can he keep track of the White House.

You know, I'm surprised that stuff like this doesn't come up more. Heck, last week there was a story about how McCain's campaign staffers are trying to limit his cell phone usage, because he tends to just regurgitate the last thing he heard.

And all I could think was, are you @!$%#ing kidding me? The candidate for the highest office in the county has to be babysat by his staffers because he can't be trusted with a cell phone? There's just something so incredibly screwed up about that.

And all I could think was, are you @!$%#ing kidding me? The candidate for the highest office in the county has to be babysat by his staffers because he can't be trusted with a cell phone? There's just something so incredibly screwed up about that.

As I've stated before, I don't like either candidate for president, but are you seriously going to tell me that you're going to talk @!$%# about McCain based on rumors about his cell phone use when Obama wrote in his own book that he not only snorted cocaine and smoked marijuana but was a cocaine dealer? WTF? They both suck as candidates but don't trash McCain for being a dunderhead when Obama is a self described "ex-drug dealer".

OMG, Obama smoked weed in college? STOP THE PRESSES

Seriously, I actually applaud his honestly on that subject. I'm a little tired of all these self-righteous hypocrites wagging their fingers at someone that smokes a joint while they are on their forth martini. If you care about that kind of thing, that's fine, just understand that most people in this day and age don't.

But I am curious as to where Obama said he was a cocaine dealer? What book, what page number, give me the quote, stuff like that.

Absolutely. It's good that now you too see how out of touch with the common man he is. $500 shoes, $1200 pants, unknown number of houses.

It's been a long day, but I'm not sure I get your point, PrezO. Either that or you misunderstood my point. Are you saying that McCain would be a poor president because he's wealthy? Well then I guess you should put, oh, just about EVERY president in the 'too rich to be a true leader' category. I'm not a McCain fan, but how 'in touch' do you think any politician is? Since when has a politician EVER been considered a commoner? They are privileged, usually since birth. If they weren't since birth, once they became a politician they usually become so. So......what's your point? How many heads of state live in a one bedroom apartment worrying how to pay their next bill? If there were such a person, I'm sure everybody that @!$%#es he's too rich would then be @!$%#ing that he's too poor. Blah blah blah....just another non-issue being made an issue.

Are you saying that McCain would be a poor president because he's wealthy?

You can be wealthy and at least act like you know what it is to actually care about money. McCain has such a dearth of knowledge of what money means to the common person that he can't even name how many houses he owns, when the average person has a large amount of assets sunk into his home, and sure as hell knows not only how many houses he has, but where they are, how much they're worth, and at least the first two digits of next his mortgage payment.

I'm not a McCain fan, but how 'in touch' do you think any politician is?

Just off the top of my head, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards were self-made men. They at least know what it was like to actually work for money and worry about money.

So......what's your point?

I'd much rather have a president who knows what it's like to actually care about money in a practical manner than one born with a silver spoon surgically grafted to his tongue, who then stuck another one in his mouth after throwing away his first wife like last week's newspaper.

If you gonna take potshots at someone, at least try to be a bit intelligent about it by quoting what you are replying to or posting your reply by hitting the correct reply button instead of posting it randomly in a thread filled with intelligent comments. Ya know, it sticks out like a $500 pair of shoes.

A candidate for predisdent can be rich but if you are, you had better stop making statements that lead you to appear out of touch with the average American, and you had better stop calling your opponent an elitist when you appear to be one yourself.

I couldn't vote for JFK because I wasn't around to vote.

There is a different between rich and concerned about those with less then you and those that are rich and arrogant. McCain is the latter.

? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people "cling" to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who's in touch with regular Americans?

With a guy married to a beer heiress worth over $100 million, who owns more houses than he can recall? Bring it.

For sure.

Oh no, Obama bought his own house with his own money that wasn't inherited? That's so unlike the experience of most Americans! Oh geeze, that elitist Obama doesn't think that his fellow Americans are knuckle-draggers and assumes they are bright enough to know what Arugula is? How dare he not assume Americans are idiots! Oh golly, Obama actually had the audacity to spend his vacation visiting his grandmother? And supposedly visited non-existent private beaches to boot. Oh my goodness, Obama is a self-made man that is sucessful and made a mere fraction of what the McCain's take in with their inherited business every year? Doesn't he know the real American dream is to marry into money?

Yeah, that really makes Obama look really bad. Because OMG! Clinging to guns! OMG!

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? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people "cling" to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who's in touch with regular Americans?"

Does a guy who's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, thanks to his wife, and owns so many houses that he can't keep track of them really want to keep flapping his gums?

Jackkeefe,

I saw nothing wrong with Obama statement about "cling" to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship" because I believe some Americans do this.

Hmmmm...let's see check out the news...we have had shootings of others by males who have lost their jobs and some of them were recent.

Hmmm...maybe Obama was telling the truth.

What a sad devolution of a guy many of us once admired.

You hit the nail on the head, there.

I used to be a big McCain fan. Then, he decided to trade personal integrity for neocon brownnosing.

Yeah, I was the same way. I liked the guy in 2000, and to see him fall so far from his values just to get a head pat and a treat from the GOP was disappointing.

What Jack said. Totally.

Wow! How much more out-of-touch can this guy be? You would have to be out-of-touch yourself to vote for him!

You'd have to be out of touch with the reality that is America to actually believe its wrong to be rich. When America is one of the few places on the planet that ANYONE can rise from poverty to Billionaire status by taking advantage of the opportunities our nation has to offer.

Ever heard of Shultz, Job or Gates? How about Winfrey, Cosby or Tyler Perry? How about Magic or Shaq? Its possible for anyone to be rich and extremely possible for a rich person not to know the exact nature of his holdings. It is wrong and disingenuous to paint McCain as some sort of villain for something is common with anyone who has a lot of money. Including The Kennedy's, The Careys and Al daggone Gore!

And you'd have to be really out of touch to think that people with a lot of money can account for all their property, holdings and investments on the spot!

Thats unrealistic and plain dumb!

I bet almost none of you know the various investments in your own 401k account

You'd have to be out of touch with the reality that is America to actually believe its wrong to be rich

You keep intentionally missing the point. No one said it's evil to be rich. Point is John Sidney McCain makes a big show of being a down-to-earth common man completely in touch with the common folk and makes a big show of how Obama is elitist and doesn't understand the common man's problems. And yet he is the one who goes around wearing $500 shoes, own more houses than he can keep count of and yet thinks that the current economy is solid. The point is his hypocrisy. The point is his inability to see the current state of the economy and how bad it is for most common folk. Something he can't see since he is out of touch with reality.

So let's not manufacture any more strawmen shall we?

When America is one of the few places on the planet that ANYONE can rise from poverty to Billionaire status by taking advantage of the opportunities our nation has to offer.

And McCain apparently took advantage of a certain female opportunity America had to offer.

Ooooh, a lot of work, there.

So let's not manufacture any more strawmen shall we?

Take pity on the man. When you've got no substance, all you're left with are strawmen.

he is the one who goes around wearing $500 shoes,

Are you serious - In urban America many ghetto kids own I Phones , X-Boxes, pay $250-$280 for Air Jordans, $50-$60 dollar for throwback Jerseys, Roca Wear and Karl Kani. The average night club going pimp/player wears Armani and many, many people drive Hummers....so what if the man wears shoes his money can afford, at least he can really afford it!!

own more houses than he can keep count of

Most people that have enough money to have real estate holdings can not account for the exact amount or details of how many or how much....get serious!

and yet thinks that the current economy is solid.

I'm in middle management, not rich by any means, but my company is experiencing 10% growth this year. Yea a lot of people are having it hard but guess what... Home Town Buffet and Cold Stone Creamery are doing fine!
We're hiring and we're not the only company that is. In fact some people are still buying cars and homes.
In short Business in America is still holding its own and doing fine. Many people are working and many others are starting businesses. This was McCain's point. It takes 2 quarters of negative growth to offcially be a recession. Obama is muckraking, gathering all the malcontents, telling them how bad things are they while he himself is doing great!

A lot of people that support Obama are young people, young people that discuss politics between bong hits, while playing Grand Theft Auto on the big screen tv they're mommy and daddy bought, rolling in a car they got for graduation living in the lap of luxury taking advantage of the opportunity that can only be found in the same America they take for granted and do not appreciate. They have the latest lap top and the latest cell phone...lacking nothing crying about how bad it is, turning the channel or having something smart aleck to say when they see the Christian programs showing the pictures of all the starving children and orphans in the Sudan.

From suburbia to the inner city we're raising a bunch of selfish, self centered brats and Obama is nothing more that the daggone pied piper!!!

If you can see pass the glare of his aura you might begin to see the truth

but my company is experiencing 10% growth this year

That's the problem with you elitists. You can't see beyond your little house, your little group, your little company. There is an whole new America outside, ya know? The real America. Which as you speak is going through a hard time with the economy. GDP growth is less than 1%. Foreclosures are still holding strong. Housing market is yet to hit the bottom. And here you have the to talk about how your company is experiencing growth.

In fact some people are still buying cars and homes.

Yeah, the rich folks who can afford it.

In short Business in America is still holding its own and doing fine.

Man, you are so out of touch with the ground reality that I won't bother shouting so as to reach you in your high-tower ivory castle.

That's the problem with you elitists. You can't see beyond your little house, your little group, your little company.

Thats the problem with you muckrakers and malcontents, In between playing with your X Box and texting each other on your new I-Phone, you can't see that your spending is keeping the economy moving. You can't see the Target Stores, the Ebays, the Krispy Kremes, the Sizzlers and the Red Lobsters are still serving up what the people want.

You can't see the new car lots are still selling cars and KB Homes is still selling homes. You can't even see that ABC, NBC and CBS are still selling plenty of commercial time and the NY Times Best Seller list and Oprahs Book Club represent millions and millions of books sold. Somebody is making money my friend, the GNP of America is being maintained some kind of way. I don't think "The Dark Knight" was that great of a movie that it got people to spend what they didn't have to spend. I don't think anyone missed a meal making that the biggest box office release in history...do you?

As for my little company, it represents work from hundreds of different corporations and companies that pay us to do what we do ....just in case you didn't realize it business kinda works like that Maybe you should clear away the smoke from that chronic you're puffing on and support legitimate business by buying something from the above - ground economy like maybe a quart of milk, a bottle of Visine and an actual Newspaper and get serious! Above all grow up, quit whining and get to work!

Yes We Can!!!!

Ok, there's a reason why we don't take economic advice from middle management.

Five of ten leading economic indicators, including building permits which indicate future construction, actually declined last month by .7%. Building permits declined by 18% themselves. The S&P 500 declined .25% from June. Since Feb., the leading index has decreased at an annual rate of 1.8%, reflecting that the economy is indeed in a weak state. Source

And, all the while, Real Disposable Personal Income decreased 2.6% in June, making it even harder for average Americans to boost the economy by spending. Not to mention that the prices of U.S. goods and services rose by 4.2% in 2Q08, reflecting a sharp rise in energy costs. Subtracting the cost of food and energy, and prices still rose by 2.2%. Source

Guys, guys, take it easy on charles.

What he's saying is that because all visible industry (service, media, stuff he works at) hasn't completely imploded, then the economy is perfectly fine.

That's very sound economic advice. After all, we should never worry about the economy until every store you pass puts up a "Going Out of Business Sale" sign.

Ok, there's a reason why we don't take economic advice from middle management.

Indeed, there's a reason Dilbert casts the middle manager as the bumbling, arrogant nincompoop.

Five of ten leading economic indicators, including building permits which indicate future construction, actually declined last month by .7%. Building permits declined by 18% themselves. The S&P 500 declined .25% from June. Since Feb., the leading index has decreased at an annual rate of 1.8%, reflecting that the economy is indeed in a weak state. Source

And, all the while, Real Disposable Personal Income decreased 2.6% in June, making it even harder for average Americans to boost the economy by spending. Not to mention that the prices of U.S. goods and services rose by 4.2% in 2Q08, reflecting a sharp rise in energy costs. Subtracting the cost of food and energy, and prices still rose by 2.2%. Source

Meanwhile I bet you or your family haven't missed a meal. Don't get me wrong here, gas prices ( which are going down ) hit me hard! I live in Cali where 100 mile drive is as common as blinking your eye.

But what I'm saying is this...America is not in a recession or a depression and America will come out of it through innovation and smart planning. Socialist notions of redistributing wealth ain't gonna do it and in fact will only scare the bejeebers out of people who have the money to invest to create new businesses and new jobs. Part of whats happening on Wall Street is a direct reflection of the fear investors have of what to many has seemed like a shoe in Obama presidency. The man is an economic leftist...you really oughta know this by his numerous comments. He's an idiot when it comes to putting something into place to stimulate a National Economy...he's no Bill Clinton by any means.

Several years ago, while on a visit to England, I marveled so much at their National Health and low crime rates, I openly considered moving there with some of the locals. To my chagrin, many of them were dreaming of coming to America!

Depsite the fact that the USA does not have Universal Health Care, these people are willing to come here for one key reason, as one guy put it, "you guys have wa-a-a-ay more opportunity than we do here" He went on to say, "In America the average person ( meaning himself) has far greater chance of becoming a real success than we do here". I debated him for a while but no avail....he, a young Caucasian Britainer, opened my eyes to the reality that is the USA.

The reality is this...you can wake up on a door step in America, homeless with no food to eat.....but in America, a person in that situation can make a decision and within a moment of time he can find shelter, a meal and numerous resources to get his life back on track. Armed with nothing but a dream that same person can be living a full and prosperous life and within a few years could possibly be wealthier than Obama and McCain put together.

Thats the America we live in and its still as true today as it has always been.

Howard Shultz, Chris Gardner, Whoppi Goldberg, Tyler Perry are just a few of the rags to riches stories that happen everyday in this the Greatest Nation on God's Green Earth

G'day!!

While I don't dispute that there are many opportunities for Americans, and much more than in similar developed countries, we still have our own problems. Those problems need tending to in order for this nation to remain great. At the moment, the Bush admin. has effectively unraveled decades of trust that has been built into the financial system. You can't definitively say that America is not in a recession. That is never known until looking in retrospect. What those like me(BA stands for business analyst) look for are indicators, like the leading index and GDP growth rates. Several consecutive months of declining growth in the GDP rate coupled with several months of declining leading indices indicate that the economy could be headed for tough times. Not saying that a depression or recession is imminent, but projecting that unless something happens, they are likely to continue on the same path.

Socialist notions of redistributing wealth ain't gonna do it and in fact will only scare the bejeebers out of people who have the money to invest to create new businesses and new jobs.

For this, you may want to research FDR's New Deal. This was a massive wealth and power redistribution from an elite few who had benefited from the Great Depression to the masses who had suffered. This deal pulled America out of the Great Depression. For the second part, you may want to look at the shortcomings of 'Reaganomics', more popularly called 'Trickle Down Economics'. This policy has, every time, led to a period of negative growth and recession. What works in theory does not always work in reality, and the past 8 years have proven this beyond all doubt.

Part of whats happening on Wall Street is a direct reflection of the fear investors have of what to many has seemed like a shoe in Obama presidency.

While this is partly true, I feel that it is implied for all the wrong reasons. The reason the investors fear an Obama presidency is because of the regulation that will come with it. This brings me back to my previous statement of the administration destroying the trust in our financial system. Refer to this seed to hear what noted analyst Jim Cramer has to say about the issue.

The America that you seem to recall is not the America of most Americans. California is notorious for not mimicking the rest of the country. It is true that one can go from nothing to something by working hard, but that is getting more and more difficult as the opportunities once afforded to every American are, one by one, taken away by the growth of the gap between classes.

Jack Huang: After all, we should never worry about the economy until every store you pass puts up a "Going Out of Business Sale" sign.

Isn't that like closing the barn doors after the horses have run out?

I bet you or your family haven't missed a meal.

Most people with internet access either here or at work are probably ok with food, but many others are being faced with deciding between food, heat, prescriptions or rent/mortgage.

..but in America, a person in that situation can make a decision and within a moment of time he can find shelter, a meal and numerous resources to get his life back on track

If the person isn't faced with mental illness, say a vet with PTSD, and he/she is able to find out about the programs and the waiting lists aren't years long.

charles-254901 stated the following:

"But what I'm saying is this...America is not in a recession or a depression and America will come out of it through innovation and smart planning."

Umm, who's going to lead us through that period of innovation? Who's going to do the smart planning?

I think that is the question here. BTW, it's yet to be seen if we're in a recession or depression as neither can be defined/seen except in hindsight. However, the leading economic indicators tend to point to a slowing economy and we did have a negative growth period last reported quarter and things have not gotten better during this quarter.

I'm not saying we can't/won't get out of this situation. But, I believe our selection of President will be key to doing so.

charles-254901 also stated this:

"Part of whats happening on Wall Street is a direct reflection of the fear investors have of what to many has seemed like a shoe in Obama presidency"

HAHAHAHA, that's funny. No sir. That is not why stocks are tumbling, stocks are tumbling because we've had a major financial institution failure (Bear Sterns), a sharp and sudden increase in fuel costs which are effecting production costs which are effecting prices including gas, food, medicine, and health care. Are you starting to get how this works?

Tell me this who has been leading us for the last 8 years and has failed to put the brakes on? George Bush

Who passed the legislation creating the loopholes that have allowed speculators to run rampant in our futures markets? Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress.

Who's refused to close those loopholes created back in 2000? George Bush and both Republican and Democratic Congresses.

Give me a break charles and open your eyes.

This is a very important election cycle and I for one intend to vote for who I believe is the least beholden to corporations and their filthy money that has ruined our political process. People need to look at all 6 candidates out there and make the best decision they can. My children and your children's futures depend on it in so many ways.

Socialist notions of redistributing wealth ain't gonna do it and in fact will only scare the bejeebers out of people who have the money to invest to create new businesses and new jobs. Part of whats happening on Wall Street is a direct reflection of the fear investors have of what to many has seemed like a shoe in Obama presidency.

Ah yes. Obama caused subprime and the oil price hike, just like how he caused Midwest flooding and California wildfires.

He's an idiot when it comes to putting something into place to stimulate a National Economy...he's no Bill Clinton by any means.

Nor is he a George W. Bush, thank goodness.

Isn't that like closing the barn doors after the horses have run out?

Well, it's not a depression -- or even a recession -- until we know that America becomes a nation of homeless people.

While I don't dispute that there are many opportunities for Americans, and much more than in similar developed countries, we still have our own problems. Those problems need tending to in order for this nation to remain great.

Great post...thats for your insight!

Jack Huang: Well, it's not a depression -- or even a recession -- until we know that America becomes a nation of homeless people.

I don't know about you, Jack, but I'd rather watch documentaries on the Great Depression than have to live through one. I still say...the horses may go missing, and closing the barn doors after the fact is too little too late.

visioncoast, you do realize I was being sarcastic, right? ;-)

Jack,

No I didn't. D'oh!

Double stupid because I should recognize your sarcasm by now.

Hehe, happens to the best of us. It's especially problematic (and disturbing) when surrounding comments make sarcasm hard to pick out, like when The Onion inadvertently predicts real news stories.

like when The Onion inadvertently predicts real news stories.

LOL, you noticed that too?

Yeah, sometimes truth is stranger ... or funnier ... than fiction. Or scarier. Sometimes, all at once.

If you ask me, McCain looked pretty fresh last Saturday night,

Probably from all of the formaldehyde. It keeps him from stinking, too.......

Missdynamite,

That is too funny. LOLOL.

How about Obama's sweet little mansion deal in Chicago congrats to Tony Rezko's wife handling of the finances, so Obama could get it for nearly free.

Last I checked, $1.3mil isn't what we typically consider "nearly free." Maybe for McCain, it is. That'd explain why he can't keep track of his houses: he got them for "nearly free."

How did he pay for that when he and Michelle stated that on their income she didn't know how she was going to pay for their daughters' piano lessons.

Source?

They live what they speak.

Apparently, McCain's saying: "Wives are like cars. When you're bored of one, trade up."

Also, I guess it's okay to pick on age.

When that age comes with apparent public senility, sure. I didn't realize mental acuity was not a valid criterion for fitness of a presidential candidate.

If you ask me, McCain looked pretty fresh last Saturday night, and Obama looked a little befuddled!

It's easy to look fresh when you've got no thoughts. Mannequins do it all the time.

Jack Huang: It's easy to look fresh when you've got no thoughts. Mannequins do it all the time.

Damn, thanks, Jack! I needed that. OMG, too on the money.

Probably from all of the formaldehyde. It keeps him from stinking, too.......

Damn you!! You owe me a Coke and new keyboard.

Damn you!! You owe me a Coke and new keyboard

. You know,the embalming thing just popped into my head after reading that article about the guy in Puerto Rico whose mother propped his embalmed body up in the corner for his wake.

missdynamite...Funny :)

It's a part of politics and the media doesn't see it as really irrelevant if you a presidential candidate touting yourself as a "man of the people" and calling your opponent an "elitist".

I don't support mccain nor care what he says. I was just simply stating that the media finds the darndest things to go against people. I'm sure most people in politics are elitists and probably have no clue what its like to be a middle-class american.

While no one ever asked what it cost Mitt Romney to keep his hair so exquisitely lacquered in place at all times. I have a feeling he'd consider a $400 haircut a bargain.

trex,

Yep, if a tornado came rolling through the town or place Mitt Romney is in, the only thing left standing would be his hair. LOL.

While no one ever asked what it cost Mitt Romney to keep his hair so exquisitely lacquered in place at all times. I have a feeling he'd consider a $400 haircut a bargain.

Now, do you think that Obama would've been able to pay for one of those $400.00 haircuts with the money he made peddling drugs to the children of Harvard Law School? I mean, he proudly tells in his own book how he not only snorted cocaine and smoked marijuana, but also how he peddled drugs to other children while he was there. Is that worse than having your hair look nice on camera? Hmm....

3rd time a charm Jeff can you please post the next dittohead talking point now, this one is starting to wear on me a bit.

3rd time a charm Jeff can you please post the next dittohead talking point now, this one is starting to wear on me a bit.

What's a dittohead? I just want someone to answer the question and nobody will. What is your opinion on the subject? You seem to be reading the question, why not take a stab at answering it?

A dittohead is someone that regurgitates Rush Limbaugh talking points.

I've never heard that Obama sold cocaine, so I'll need a source on that before I can comment on it.

Jeff Mauney is a blatant liar.

Obama has acknowledged using marijuana and cocaine as a teenager but says he quit when he went to college and hasn't used drugs since.

Source

He never sold drugs at Harvard, he had already quit by then.

Uh Jeff:
1. Obama never sold drugs
2. John Edwards was the one with the $400 haircuts not Obama

BAjunkie,

Thank you for the link. Jeff Mauney must be smoking weed to make some of the comments he does, e.g., children go to Harvard? That's news to me. I thought Harvard was a college.

This Corsi dude is a vile piece of pond scum who should have his right to freedom of speech revoked. I know how that sounds, however, when you consider his book is now No. 1 on the NYT bestseller list and this is a historic election coming up and our country is on the verge of economic collapse and we're fighting two wars with another one (or two?) in the making and our troops are suffering 3 and 4 and 5 deployments and L.A. has 90,000 homeless on the streets on any given night and our borders are hanging open and 47 million people have no health insurance...

Corsi should be brought up on charges of slander and libel. Along with Rove and Ralph Reed.

And you know what's really scary? Americans are going to believe this piece of propaganda from Corsi not because they've done their research and substantiated it but because they want to.

Americans are going to believe this piece of propaganda from Corsi not because they've done their research and substantiated it but because they want to.

An interesting thought. My own take is that many Americans, including Conservatives, actually have wanted to believe the opposite: that Obama is indeed a breath of fresh air offering new vision and positive change. But, as increased scrutiny has come, Obama simply isn't holding up well under the pressure and the revelation of certain facts.

Obviously, Corsi himself and his book have some significant credibility issues. But there are many smoky fires surrounding the Obama candidacy at the moment. Will they burst into a major inferno or simmer silently in our collective consciousness?

Tom,

Maybe I read too much Obama-smashing on Newsvine (and there seems to be no end to it), but it seems to me that we're beginning to clearly see the line in the sand, and it too often comes down to the party line. Factor in the latest rounds of polls with Obama dropping back, and I fear that those you say "wanted" to have confidence in Obama have now moved elsewhere, i.e., McCain.

Corsi himself and his book have some significant credibility issues.

Tom, you're far too kind. I'm somewhat surprised Simon & Schuster published this manuscript, because if reported accurately by The Daily News, Corsi's book is begging to find itself in court along with its author. Some of the readers' reviews on S&S's Threshold Edition Web pages use words like "unfit for publication," "lies and distortions," "malicious" and "thrilling fiction."

You know, I can't see all this without thinking about how I was raised to be truthful, to be respectful and to do the right thing. And as an adult I find that those who wield the most influence and power rarely do any of those things.

LOLOLOL. Whatever! LOLOLOLOL. The McCain camp is like the little boy who cried wolf. After a while everyone stops believing you when you put out so many lies.

Also, McCain should remember the Keating 5 scandal too. Oh, then again maybe he forgot that too. Selective memory is great isn't it. LOLOLOL.

Comment 49.

Brave attempt at trying to spin your leader's way out of his latest mess, but sorry, the world sees the truth. The Internet is a great thing.

John Sidney McCain - the out-of-touch-with-common-folk elitist who owns more houses than he can remember or count, who wears $500 shoes, $1200 pants, whose wife routinely charges $200,000 on her credit cards....

I think this is the "tank moment" for McCain. Check the polls next week. Hahaha.

Brave attempt at trying to spin your leader's way out of his latest mess, but sorry, the world sees the truth. The Internet is a great thing.

Yeah, we see the truth. It was written by Obama himself in his own biography. He wrote how he was a drug dealer who pushed illegal drugs like cocaine and marijuana to the children at Harvard University. Is that the truth you are finding on the internet? PrezO? If you can't find it on the internet then you can buy a copy of Obama's book. Then you can read his own words as he writes about how he used to peddle drugs to the children at his university. That's just sad, man...

Jeff I think we got the point of Obama saying he dealt drugs. Do you really need to post it more than once?

JaRagga-well you see Jeff is trying to just make up for all those journalists out there who have ignored it and given Obama a big pass for it......the same ones who tried to nail GWB over his DWI October surprise back in 2000--oh, the hypocrisy is killing me.

It wasn't ignored I assure you lisaed. It's one of the reasons I've not made a firm selection this year yet. As I said I am concerned about the motivations of both of these candidates and am seriously considering voting for a third party.

Lisa, can you or Jeff source the information about Obama being a drug dealer?

or are you just seizing the latest noise that you hear, kinda like McCain taking the views of the last person he spoke with?

Stacy and TheJonesGirl

I been doing some digging around and here's what I found.

1. There is no evidence that Barack Obama sold drugs at any point.
2. These charges stem from comments made by Billy Shaheen, the co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire when he raised the issue of Sen. Barack Obama's past admissions of drug use in December 2007.
3. The only references I was able to find anywhere near proof of Obama selling drugs is when Shaheen said Obama's candor on the subject would "open the door" to further questions. "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'" Shaheen said. "There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."
4. I think this rehashing is a result of either the August 12 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes interview of Jerome Corsi, author of The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality (Threshold Editions, August 2008) or allegations made in the book itself.

I found this tidbit from Media Matters Wed, Aug 13, 2008 7:55pm ET:

"During the August 5 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, contributor Bob Beckel said to Corsi: "This book is full of innuendos, misstatements, lies. He says -- Mr. Corsi says, 'It's 300 pages, 600 footnotes, and I stand by every statement in this book.' Let me see if you stand by some of these statements, Doctor: 'Obama never revealed if or when he stopped using drugs.' That's a lie. The truth is that he said in his own book Dreams From My Father that he stopped when he got into college." Corsi then contradicted his book's false claim by making another false claim, saying, "He fully admitted his drug use, both marijuana and cocaine. He says it continued through college." In fact, Obama did not say his drug use "continued through college"; he said he stopped after moving to New York to attend Columbia."

I do want to thank Jeff and Lisa for prodding me to do more research on the topic as I had believed Barack had used and sold drugs. I now know he only used them and the rest was allegations, smear and character assassination. I hate to admit I allowed myself to be mislead but I'm happy I learned what I have at this point though the drug use still concerns me to some degree. However, I'm not anywhere near as concerned with Mr. Obama as I was this morning.

Good. *smiles* I guess "Get Smarter Here" really does work sometimes. Glad to see it.

The last I heard about the Resco case was that Senator Obama came up clean so breathe out and breathe in, release and let it go. LOL.

The last I heard about the Resco case was that Senator Obama came up clean so breathe out and breathe in, release and let it go. LOL

. I guess you just let the air out of our tires ....LOL

What a joke!

Now thats what I call an elitist fix for high gas prices................. talk about out of touch!

To the moon Alice!

Well you see Obama's close associations with the likes of convicted felons like Rezko, terrorists like Ayers, and black separatists like Wright just don't quite pass the smell test to me.

Just because you keep spreading false information doesn't make it true. Can you give us some more information. Oh is he an alien from Mars too? I bet he grows a long tail to at night too? LOL.

Well you see Obama's close associations with the likes of convicted felons like Rezko, terrorists like Ayers, and black separatists like Wright just don't quite pass the smell test to me.

Of course not, since your purpose in politics is to smear Obama, no matter how untrue the statement.

Keating Five, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, and a bevy of lobbyists with conflicts of interest writing his policies (Phil Gramm, Charlie Black, Randy Scheunemann, etc.). Obama won't give Bill Ayers the keys to the treasury. McCain might just give them to Phil Gramm. Which one should we be more scared of?

Which one should we be more scared of?

They all scare me! The less of this big, burgeoning government the better. I'll say less Huge business as well. Let's bring it all back down a notch and get things a bit more local, a bit more sane...

Right... because McCain's close associations with Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, and Donald W. Riegle, which just happened to cost American taxpayers $124 Billion, aren't at all suspect. What about his 'association' with Vicki Iseman? How about K street? Give me a freakin break.

Poor McCain, even his staunchest supporters are failing to come up with any good excuse for this one. Resurrecting issues that have already been beat to death ain't gonna help when the common man can see what a big hypocrite McCain is. A man who can't remember or count the number of houses he has. Ah, it must be nice....

Can you not be a normal guy and rich at the same time?

Can you not be a normal guy and rich at the same time?

Sigh. Please stop feigning idiocy, E.D.Kain. The issue isn't that McCain has money.

Obama worked to earn his money, as did Gates, Buffett, Edwards, Clinton, etc.

However, McCain married a golden goose, cares so little about his investments that he can't even name how many houses he owns, and declares (jokingly, right, of course) $5mil/year to be barely rich, then presumes to claim himself as an everyman while Obama, who just paid off his own student loans and worked to earn his money, is supposedly to be the elitist?

It's tantamount to Danny DeVito calling Shaquille O'Neal "short."

However, McCain married a golden goose, cares so little about his investments that he can't even name how many houses he owns, and declares (jokingly, right, of course) $5mil/year to be barely rich, then presumes to claim himself as an everyman while Obama, who just paid off his own student loans and worked to earn his money, is supposedly to be the elitist?

Jack, first off how do you know I'm feigning? ;-)

Second, I think it's rather sexist to say that when a man marries a woman with money it must be for her money. I doubt if the reverse were the case anyone would dare comment on it. Nor should they.

Third, he's probably too busy campaigning for President and all that to really pay much attention to his investments.

And last, all politicians at that level are elitist. They all try to play the regular guy card, but they're all obviously not regular guys (or gals). So who cares if they play that card? It's politics. They should play every card in their hand!

I don't know if it was all that smart for McCain to run the Rezco ad, perhaps he forgot that he himself was involved in the Keating 5 scandal.

Both Obama and McCain were cleared of having illegal dealings.

And both McCain and Obama were said to have bad judgement in the situations.

So how is it fair to throw Rezco dirt on Obama's face, and not expect for someone to throw Keating 5 dirt in McCain's face?

Jack Huang...
John Kerry married ketchup queen.

Dittos to E.D.Kain

Second, I think it's rather sexist to say that when a man marries a woman with money it must be for her money.

Hardly. McCain traded in his old wife in for a nice little cash cow when she became disabled, citing that he wanted a fresh start.

I doubt if the reverse were the case anyone would dare comment on it. Nor should they.

You haven't really seen much of the world, have you? Comments on such appear all the time.

Third, he's probably too busy campaigning for President and all that to really pay much attention to his investments.

Ah, so he can't multitask. What a great thing to see in your future President.

And last, all politicians at that level are elitist. They all try to play the regular guy card, but they're all obviously not regular guys (or gals). So who cares if they play that card? It's politics. They should play every card in their hand!

Ah, so they should play that card, yet we shouldn't point out flagrant hypocrisy. Got it.

Obama won't give Bill Ayers the keys to the treasury.

Spiffie 51.6: Oh, really? How do you know?

What about his 'association' with Vicki Iseman?

BAJunkie 51.8--What 'association' are you speaking of---the one now debunked that the NYT tried to use against McCain during the GOP primaries? Why didn't the NYT use the same amount of journalistic restraint that they showed to John Edwards and his REAL sex scandal? And you can't use Keating against mccain --- you see because he turned that low point in his career into something positive---he became a leader vis a vis ethics reform in the senate --his record proves it. End of Keating story.

So how is it fair to throw Rezco dirt on Obama's face, and not expect for someone to throw Keating 5 dirt in McCain's face?

Renata Nicole 51.13--because McCain has worked a lifetime in the senate to atone for those earlier sins....has Obama done anything to atone for his assocations with the likes of Rezko, Ayers, Dohrn, and Wright????

And you can't use Keating against mccain --- you see because he turned that low point in his career into something positive---he became a leader vis a vis ethics reform in the senate --his record proves it. End of Keating story.

@!$%# that @!$%#.. I can use it when I damn well deem necessary.

BAJunkie-51.19-of course you can use it whenever you want to---doesn't mean it will be effective. My my---why so grouchy?

Spiffie 51.6: Oh, really? How do you know?

Really? It's about as obvious as can be, I would have thought. Let's walk through it:

So, yeah; I'm much, much, much more concerned that McCain would trust Gramm with the keys to treasury for the simple reason that McCain seems determined to give a @!$%#wit like Gramm a central advising position on his campaign. Meanwhile, I'm not worried about Ayers because there's literally zero chance that anyone would pick Ayers as head of treasury; the decision just doesn't make sense.