On Sep 16, 1:13 pm, A Boater wrote:
There is nothing wrong with being happily stinking rich and utterly
detached. Nothing, that is, unless you make criticizing your political
opponent as "elitist" and "out of touch" a centerpiece of your campaign.
Rick Davis, speaking on behalf of his $100 million man John McCain,
earlier this month offered the latest formulation of Barack Obama as an
effete, aloof denizen of the upper class:
.
"Only celebrities like Barack Obama go to the gym three times a day,
demand 'MET-RX chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and bottles of a
hard-to-find organic brew - Black Forest Berry Honest Tea' and worry
about the price of arugula."
.
Of course, Davis' "arugula war" is just another attempt at misdirection.
After all, John McCain's $5 million threshold where "you move from
middle class to rich" is just the latest episode of his enduring
disconnect from the real lives of the American people.
.
For starters, McCain in April declared that there had been "great
progress economically" during the Bush years. On more than one occasion,
he diagnosed Americans' concerns over the dismal U.S. economy as
"psychological." (Phil Gramm, McCain's close friend and adviser
supposedly excommunicated over his "whiners" remarks, was back with the
campaign last week.) McCain, a man who owns eight homes nationwide, in
March lectured Americans facing foreclosure that they ought to be "doing
what is necessary -- working a second job, skipping a vacation, and
managing their budgets -- to make their payments on time." And when all
else fails, McCain told the people of the economically devastated
regions in Martin County, Kentucky and Youngstown, Ohio, there's always
eBay.

In his defense, McCain's shocking tone-deafness may just be a matter of
perspective. When you're as well off as he is, anything below a $5
million income (a figure exceeding that earned on average by the top
0.1% of Americans) seems middle class.

*The $100 Million Man*
Courtesy of his wife Cindy's beer distribution fortune (one her late
father apparently chose not to share with her half-sister Kathleen), the
McCains are worth well over $100 million. (In the two-page tax summary
she eventually released to the public, Cindy McCain reported another $6
million in 2006.) As Salon reported back in 2000, the second Mrs.
McCain's millions were essential in launching her husband's political
career. Unsurprisingly, the Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti, who
four years ago called Theresa Heinz-Kerry a "sugar mommy," has been
silent on the topic of Cindy McCain.

*The Joys of (Eight) Home Ownership*
While fellow adulterer John Edwards was pilloried for his mansion, John
McCain's eight homes around the country have received little notice or
criticism. His properties include a 10 acre lake-side Sedona estate,
euphemistically called a "cabin" by the McCain campaign, and a home
featured in Architectural Digest. The one featuring "remote control
window coverings" was recently put up for sale. Still, their formidable
resources did not prevent the McCains from failing to pay taxes on a
tony La Jolla, California condo used by Cindy's aged aunt.

*The Anheuser-Busch Windfall*
As it turns out, the beauty of globalization is in the eye of the
beholder. While John McCain apparently played a critical role in
facilitating DHL's takeover of Airborne (and with it, the looming loss
of 8,000 jobs in Wilmington, Ohio), Cindy McCain is set to earn a
staggering multi-million dollar pay-day from the acquisition of
Anheuser-Busch by the Belgian beverage giant, In Bev. As the Wall Street
Journal reported in July, Mrs. McCain runs the third largest
Anheuser-Busch distributorship in the nation, and owns between $2.5 and
$5 million in the company's stock. Amazingly, while Missouri's
politicians of both parties lined up to try to block the sale, John
McCain held a fundraiser in the Show Me State even as the In Bev deal
was being finalized.

*McCain's $370,000 Personal Tax Break*
Earlier this year, the Center for American Progress analyzed John
McCain's tax proposals. The conclusion? McCain's plan is radically more
regressive than even that of President Bush, delivering 58% of its
benefits to the wealthiest 1% of American taxpayers. McCain's born-again
support for the Bush tax cuts has one additional bonus for Mr. Straight
Talk: the McCains would save an estimated $373,000 a year.

*Paying Off $225,000 Credit Card Debt - Priceless*
That massive windfall from his own tax plan will come in handy for John
McCain. As was reported in June, the McCains were carrying over $225,000
in credit card debt. The American Express card - don't leave your homes
without it.

*Charity Begins at Home*
As Harpers documented earlier this year, the McCains are true believers
in the old saying that charity begins at home:
.
Between 2001 and 2006, McCain contributed roughly $950,000 to [their]
foundation. That accounted for all of its listed income other than for
$100 that came from an anonymous donor. During that same period, the
McCain foundation made contributions of roughly $1.6 million. More than
$500,000 went to his kids' private schools, most of which was donated
when his children were attending those institutions. So McCain
apparently received major tax deductions for supporting elite schools
attended by his children.
.
Ironically, the McCain campaign last week blasted Barack Obama for
having attended a private school in Hawaii on scholarship. That attack
came just weeks after John McCain held an event at his old prep school,
Episcopal High, an institution where fees now top $38,000 a year.

*Private Jet Setters*
As the New York Times detailed back in April, John McCain enjoyed the
use of his wife's private jet for his campaign, courtesy of election law
loopholes he helped craft. Despite the controversy, McCain continued to
use Cindy's corporate jet. For her part, Cindy McCain says that even
with skyrocketing fuel costs, "in Arizona the only way to get around the
state is by small private plane."

*Help on the Homefront*
In these tough economic times, the McCains are able to stretch their
household budget. As the AP reported in April, "McCain reported paying
$136,572 in wages to household employees in 2007. Aides say the McCains
pay for a caretaker for a cabin in Sedona, Ariz., child care for their
teenage daughter, and a personal assistant for Cindy McCain."

*Well-Heeled in $520 Shoes*
If clothes make the man, then John McCain has it made. As Huffington
Post noted in July, "He has worn a pair of $520 black leather Ferragamo
shoes on every recent campaign stop - from a news conference with the
Dalai Lama to a supermarket visit in Bethlehem, PA." It is altogether
fitting that McCain wore the golden loafers during a golf outing with
President George H.W. Bush in which he rode around in cart displaying
the sign, "Property of Bush #41. Hands Off."

The Dems throw a $28,000/plate dinner for Obama and then claim to be
the party of the common man? I cannot afford to be a Dem.