There's an old saying in American politics -- elections are not decided by the producer price index. The Obama campaign is jumping on the recent jump in the index, though, with a statement slamming the Bush-McCain economic agenda and, more importantly, hitting McCain's millionaire mindset:
The unexpected jump in the Producer Price Index announced today is just further confirmation of that our economy is failing hard-working American families. This economy may be working for the multimillionaires that John McCain considers part of the middle class, but with prices rising and wages stagnating, tens of millions of typical American families are falling behind.
The key political part is Obama hitting McCain's insta-gaffe, from the Saddleback forum, when the GOP nominee estimated that it takes a whopping $5 million annual income to be rich in America. Then, Obama personally hammered this point in a New Mexico town hall this week; the campaign is now circulating a 40-second clip of Obama ridiculing McCain's elitism. Obama ties McCain's millionaire mindset to a tax policy that only "looks out" for the super wealthy:
This attack comes as the DNC pushes a new ad showing how the wealthy McCain family would fare under his own regressive tax plan. Beyond the campaign, independent liberal groups are branding McCain as an "elitist," out-of-touch "multimillionaire who owns 10 luxurious homes" (video below). McCain's tax plan is regressive and his middle-class agenda is meager -- he has not even proposed a stimulus. Linking those policies to his vast personal fortune should resonate with voters, and the Democrats are right to make his personal wealth and anti-middle class policies an issue in the fall campaign.
This post is adapted from Ari Melber's pieces for The Washington Independent.
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