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CHESTER, Virginia : Democrat Barack Obama ripped into John McCain Thursday saying he was out of touch with economic reality after the Republican confessed to being in the dark about how many properties he owns.
With polls showing the White House race tighter than ever, and the economy by far the top concern of anxious US voters, Obama and other top Democrats pounced on an interview given by McCain to Politico.com.
Asked how many houses he owns, McCain said: "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you.
"It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you," he said, before quitting the campaign trail for three days to strategize with top aides as both the candidates finalized their choice of running mate.
The senator's campaign did not immediately confirm the number of houses, but PolitiFact.com said it totalled seven -- the family ranch in Sedona, Arizona and condominiums mostly owned in the name of McCain's wealthy wife Cindy.
Speaking at an open-air rally in brilliant sunshine here, Obama recapped McCain's recent flippant remark that only people earning five million dollars or more could truly be considered rich.
"Now think about that, I guess if you think being rich means you've got to make five million dollars, and if you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong," he said.
"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 house, you might have a different perspective.
"So there's just a fundamental gap of understanding between John McCain's world and what people are going through every single day here in America.
"We can't afford eight more years, or four more years, or one more year of the same failed economic policies that (President) George Bush has put in place," the Democrat said.
The flap over McCain's property portfolio was an opportunity for the Obama campaign to hit back hard after he was portrayed by the Republican as an elitist liberal out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.
In double-quick time, the campaign put out an Internet ad called "Seven" mocking McCain's comments to Politico.
Ending with a shot of the White House, the ad's narrator says: "Here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into."
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, a potential running mate for Obama who met privately with the White House hopeful for 15 minutes before they appeared together here, joined in the offensive.
"He couldn't count high enough to know how many houses he owns," he told CNN, before introducing Obama in Chester by countering Republican charges that the relatively inexperienced Democrat is too "risky" for the White House.
"To put somebody in the White House who says I don't know much about the economy -- that's what's risky," Kaine said, recapping McCain's own confession that he knows more about national security than about economic affairs.
Other Democrats such as New York Senator Charles Schumer have been mocking McCain's taste for expensive Italian-made shoes as the White House race moves into top gear with the start of the convention season.
As McCain's comments sparked a full-scale political storm, his campaign tried to limit the damage.
"Does a guy who made more than four million dollars 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?" said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.
"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?"
The comments referred to advice given to Obama about buying a house by his former friend, convicted fraudster Tony Rezko, and a flap about unguarded comments he made to a private fundraiser about working people.
As vice presidential speculation raged, Kaine, meanwhile, was tight-lipped to reporters about his brief huddle with Obama at a hotel in the Virginia state capital Richmond.
"I'm going to let the campaign speak for the campaign," he said, according to a pool report, when pressed on the vice presidential speculation.
Obama, who is expected to appear with his VP pick at an event in Illinois on Saturday, did not take any questions after the meeting.
The Democrats convene in Denver next week to officially crown Obama as the party's champion for November's election. The Republican nominating convention comes in the first week of September, in St Paul-Minneapolis.
- AFP /ls
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