Vote Houses in 2008

So, I really hate politics, if you haven't noticed. I think if a politician's talking, he's probably spouting some bull to cover his own butt. So, it came as no surprise to me when I popped over to the Political track of CNN to discover that Obama is concerned with McCain's housing. That's right, kiddies. Obama thinks McCain won't make a good President because he doesn't know how many houses he owns.

Clearly, we must vote for Obama!

I'll say it again: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!?! Who in Bixby's Nine Hells CARES?! So, McCain owns a few houses. He's not President yet. He needs some source of income. Maybe he likes to vacation and has houses in his favorite places? My mother-in-law owns four properties. All in California. Amazing. Americans owning property! This, obviously, disqualifies her from the Presidency!

My point is this: McCain has bigger things to worry about at the moment than his properties. In fact, he even said, "I don't know. I'll have to ask my staff." Did it occur to anyone that maybe--just maybe--he has people who invest in this stuff for him?

Let's analyze, shall we, what Obama said:

“Somebody asked John McCain, 'how many houses do you have?' and he said, 'I'm not sure, I’ll have to check with my staff,' True quote! 'I'm not sure, I'll have to check with my staff.' So they asked his staff and he said, 'at least four.' 'At least four.'

“Now think about that — I guess if you think that being rich means you gotta make five million dollars, and if you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy is fundamentally strong,” he continued. “But if you're like me and you've got one house — or you were like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so that they don't lose their home — you might have a different perspective. …" (quoted from source article)

First of all, McCain was honest. We teach children to say "I don't know" if it's an honest answer. McCain could have very easily said, "None of your doggone business!" and been perfectly honest, but he chose to give an answer that was a bit more tactful. (Note: This is why The Rogue Assassin is not on your list of people. That and I'm not old enough, yet). Continuing further, just... bwuh?! "If you think that being rich means you gotta make five million dollars..." Well. "Rich" in monetary terms is equivalent to "money." Bill Gates is rich. Bill Gates is richer than John McCain. I wonder how many houses Bill Gates has...

Now, the next part of Obama's tirade kills me. "If you're like me and you've got one house..." One house--worth how much? And it's probably a safe bet that if you live in California, you don't have a house. Unless, ya know, you're rich. So. This is a bit of catch-22 for him. "You can't know the American economy if you own four houses!" And here I thought the American economy was all about an exchange of money! Apparently, it's about real estate! Who knew.

When did the American race for Presidency start slinging retarded logic around in an attempt to sully the opponent's name? Seriously. Did James Madison have to put up with this? What about Abraham Lincoln? Or Howard Taft? Or James Garfield? Remember Garfield? He wasn't just a fat, orange and black tiger cat with an unhealthy love of lasagna. He was a President of the United States...for three months. Til some bloke assassinated him.

Anyway.

Turns out McCain owns a total of seven properties totaling a worth of about $13 million. Clearly, he does not own property in California--at least not Southern California where a house that he would own would be at least $5 mil to purchase and worth about $7-10 mil by the time he was done with it.

Do I care how many properties a potential President owns? No. It proves nothing to me other than they're pretty real estate savvy. Do I care how much money my President makes at his day job? Not really. I've long since given up the idea that an average American will be President. I expect the President to be from the upper class of society. I don't expect Joe from the pizza shop down the street to be elected. Since one of the requirements for being President is to somehow have been involved in politics (and by their very nature, politics equates to money), the President is going to be rich. What's-his-name from a few elections ago--Ross Perot!--I betchya he owned a lot of property. No one, at that time, said, "UGH! FOUL! HE IS RICH!" It doesn't matter how much money you have. It matters what your intentions and goals are for the future of America.

You can be butt-sucking rich and be an awesome President. You can be butt-sucking rich and be a Nixon. Or a Clinton. Or a Bush. Pick one. You could also be church-mouse poor and suck worse (if that's possible). Money doesn't make the politician, folks. Morals. Choices. STANDING for something even if it's not popular. AFFECTING CHANGE. Accomplishing the objectives of the people--ya know, the WILL of the PEOPLE...which is why you're even being elected in the first place? Not everything we as Americans want is right or healthy. But, the President needs to be able to have a backbone and be the parent of the Nation and say "Yes, you need this" or "No, you don't," then STICK TO IT!

So much more could be said, but at this point... it's a dead horse...and I'm done beating.