Reading The Pictures: The Definitive Answer To: "How Many Houses Did John Own?"
The way McCain's people are now compulsively using his POW experience as an all-purpose shield, the question: "How many houses did John own?" must inevitably link back to his time as a prisoner.
So, either the question is an insult because he served his country in captivity and, thus, doesn't deserve to be subjected to such (gotcha) questions, or else his time spent as a prisoner in Hanoi must contribute to the confusion as to where he's lived otherwise, and for how long.
One thing today's McCain housing controversy also does is clarify an important element regarding McCain's domesticity and sense of place. If you follow the accounts, you'll see that the real estate in his second marriage, including its acquisition and its disposition, has been uniquely controlled by Cindy. As Politico quotes from a June article from Vogue (and pay special attention to the personal pronouns):
"When I bought the first one, my husband, who is not a beach person, said, 'Oh this is such a waste of money; the kids will never go....'" . Then it got to the point where they used it so much I couldn't get in the place. So I bought another one."
With McCain spending the bulk of his time in Washington with the homes primarily Cindy's, questions about where McCain lives, exactly, and how strong his emotional tie remains to his five-and-a-half year Hanoi "residence" really aren't that far-fetched.
It's not an exaggeration to say that John McCain has been "all over the place." McCain was stationed in Meridian, Mississippi when he married Carol in July '65, who was then living in Philadelphia. Going back-and-forth, McCain then transferred to Jacksonville in September '66, the month his daughter Sidney was born. He then deployed to Vietnam in mid-'67 and was captured in October.
In '73, after he was released, the itinerant, Canal Zone-born McCain lived with his first wife in Jacksonville. That summer, he moved to Washington to attend the National War College at Fort McNair. In the fall of '74, he returned to Jacksonville where his marriage fell apart. In early '77, he moved to Washington to work in the Navy's Senate Liaison Office in a job involving constant travel (including trips to Arizona and South Florida to rendezvous with Cindy.) Then, in 1980, he got divorced, married Cindy and, in March of '81, he moved to Phoenix where he initially worked for the Hensley family before getting elected to Congress in '82, commencing a life, to this day, lived in multiple place.
Given that story, this shot of McCain in 2000 showing the prison to his son, Jack, evokes just how much the Hanoi Hilton -- where McCain dwells so often in his speeches and his anecdotes -- actually does seems to resonate as a "primary residence" -- those cell walls representing the last, longest home that McCain could call his own.
For more of the visual, including our extended Denver coverage as a credentialed Democratic Convention blog, visit BAGnewsNotes.com.
(image: David Guttenfelder/AP. Hoa Lo prison, Hanoi. April 26, 2000)
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The reports I've read indicate McCain doesn't own any houses. On the other hand, his wife and her kids (via trusts or corporations they control) own several. A few of those are investment properties and some are condos, not "houses" per se. They are all part of his wife's business and financial affairs, which are entirely separate from his. So the "how many houses" question is far from the simple thing that McCain should have been able to answer off hand. Granted, he could have handled the question better, but this is clearly a case of liberals trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. It's also a sign of their desperation as BO continues to slip in the polls. The real housing story is the Rezko-Obama deal that the media continues to ignore.
You claim "where McCain lives, exactly, and how strong his emotional tie remains to his five-and-a-half year Hanoi "residence" really aren't that far-fetched". Apparently you think McCain has a very strong ties to material things . You claim he has stronger "emotional ties" to small room than he did to his first wife. Those emotional/marital ties went out the wind when he saw she had been in a bad car accident. So the first thing he did was abandon those "emotional ties" to his wife and had a tryst with Cindy. What a guy.
McCain should be grateful that the Vietamese turned him loose. I guess they didn't have a convenient "Guantanamo" to fall back on. Rather, they made peace with us after all the destruction.
This is what going to sank McCain. When at least a millions family are at risk of foreclosure John McCain had to check when asked how many houses he own! I mean it not CD's or DVD's or even Gold Watches it Houses!
Just read an in depth report on Cindy McCain. She has all the money in the family. All of the homes are in her name as per her prenuptual agreement. The McCains file separate tax returns. John McCain is a kept man and totally out of touch with what average Americans experience in their daily lives. The McCains live on inherited wealth the source of which neither manage nor really oversee. Their is not another couple in US history that so completely resemble Marie Antoinnet and Ivan the Terrible. Yuck!
One thing I find hilarious about this is Cindy's explanation of why it was so necessary to buy a second apartment in the same complex. "I couldn't get into the place."
I recently moved out of a pretty decent sized 1 bedroom (decent sized by New York standards). Before I moved in, the same apartment was home to a family of SEVEN (I couldn't imagine sharing that space with more than one other person). Now I don't have a problem with someone buying multiple homes if they can afford it. And I don't have a problem with her saying, "I wanted some privacy, so I got another place there," or, "They used it so much, I bought them one of their own," or whatever. But her approach has a real, "Let them eat cake," ring to it.
The reason he didn't know how many houses his family owned was that McCain obviously doesn't really care about money or consumer stuff. He doesn't know what his shoes cost or where all the investment condos are located. He does government things and his wife spends her money. That's how they roll.
He does government things, indeed.
It's my understanding John and Cindy raised their children in Cindy's childhood home in Arizona, which she sold in 2006.
It doesn't really matter how many houses McCain has or whether he feels anyplace is home.
He doesn't understand the meaning and value of home ownership for the average American. He doesn't understand how foreclosures and the real estate market are effecting the American dream for so many. He thinks the economy is fine when average Americans know it's not because they're living it.
He's out of touch. MORE so than Obama.
All's I know is: If you are caught by the enemy you are supposed to escape and return to your unit to fight anew.
Cheers,
Jack
Escape from North Vietnam was virtually impossible, especially since it was impossible for large caucasians to blend in with the populace. A handful of POWs tried it, and all were recaptured. One was tortured to death as punishment. After that, the senior POWs discouraged escape attempts.
Look at an old map of North and South Vietnam. McCain was captured in Hanoi, and his leg was destroyed in the ejection. He didn't regain good use of it until he had several surgeries and a year of rehab after he returned to the states.
Look at the map and imagine a crippled caucasian man making his way from Hanoi to S Vietnam.
gage you are a McCain fan, yes?
You should look into how your idol got shot down.
My understanding is that the White House told pilots what glide path and speed to make your bombing run. Can you imagine that? The people in DC making that call.
Well as it turns out, your idol followed his orders and was, like he was warned, shot down.
Think about that, is that the man you want sending your son and daughter off to war?
"There will be more wars" was his quote.
He just told us he will start more wars, didn't he?
Look it up!
Pleasssssse, not the POW story again. Heard it one too many times. You would think he were the only one ever imprisoned as a POW.
If McCain bombed and napalmed my homeland (USA) and I captured him, he would still be inprisoned. That's what we do best, lock people up. Guantanamo anybody?
Bet ya McCain can't tell you why we were in Vietnam.
McCain never had to find a job. They were all handed to him because of who he was and not on his competence. He is a child of privilege and benefactor of nepotism. Something he and Bush have in common. He rode on his father's coattails and now he lives off his wife. The only real accomplishment he can point to is being a POW. That is not really a successful accomplishment.
So McCain really has no individual accomplishments or personal successes he can point to when trying to validate his wealth. He benefited from a privileged birth that he turned into a marriage of convenience while falling back on his only accomplishment of merit.......failing to avoid being shot down and falling into the hands of the enemy.
Hard to remember how many houses you "own" when you never had to buy one for yourself.
I wonder if his houses know how many Johns they have.
LOL!
McCain's number of houses response means little to most voters. It's an example of fearful, hyperactive Democratic political operatives looking for an issue who have lost judgment about how to really hurt McCain. People don't care all that much about those kinds of things.
Pro-Obama forces need to develop their own, indepdendent 527 -- something like "McCain, Too Stupid to be President . com". It needs to focus on McCain's class rank (possibly the stupidest graduate of a war college who wants to lead us in what he failed to master at Annapolis). It needs to dig up his 30 propaganda films for the Vietnamese while a P.O.W. and get them on You-Tube and everywhere else. It needs a quick ad of several so-called foreign democratic dictator types in a bar obviously in their homeland with McCain on CNN toasting his "friends" -- those same democratic dictator types -- in the background with the democratic dictator types laughingly saying "I can't wait 'til that dummy wins, we'll get him to send troops in and finally wipe out the those "noodniks" after 1000 years, on his tab. Look at the Iraqis, they got hundreds of billions to split up and he still wants to stay there and win."
McCain is a son of privilige who has never earned anything on his own. He needs to be exposed honestly, but straight out, with the gloves off.
McCain could never understand what it means to work for a living, to go to school on student loans come out and be underemployed and still never get to earn a living wage or pay off this debt.
Housing crisis, McCain is one of those who said why didn't the Katrina victims/survivors just go to their summer home in the Hamptons.yea right...
Remember 5 million is rich so McCain is going to raise taxes on all who make under 5 million..that is .010%.............
This is further example of his baseless lies about himself and about Obama..
He is and will say and do anything to get his turn in the White House even if he does not deserve it.
You're so right.
It's very tricky to question Sen. McCain's military service. Even suggesting that getting shot down and held captive, does not qualify one to be commander-in-chief launched an enormous (and undeserved) media backlash against Gen. Wesley Clark.
And I think knowing that the McCain's pay more to their house staff than most Americans can hope to earn, is a big deal. Knowing that he has $13 million dollars worth of real estate, and WANTS TO GIVE HIMSELF A TAX BREAK, is something that needs to be repeated.
actually, 13.8+ million....but, whose counting....and being a pow IS NOT a qualification for being president....clark was absolutely correst....like bush, mac's has been a life of privilege...this we don't need more of...
On point.
"McCain is a son of privilige who has never earned anything on his own."
God luck with that line of attack. No one flew those jets off of aircraft carriers for him, and no one did his time in Hanoi for him.
McCain retired after a full career in the Navy, at the rank of captain, with war-related disabilities. Do you honestly think "he never earned anything"? Is this what you think about all retired vets and combat vets? They never "earned anything"?
Why don't you suggest this as an ad for the Obama campaign.
He did earn his 0-6 pension after 30 years of service. He did earn his 60% physical disability rating and its multiplier effect, if any on his navy pension calculation. He has not earned the right to turn away all questions about his mental competency. The Navy does not award disability on diminished mental capacity. McCain has time and time again displayed diminished mental acuity. He should not use his physical disabilities largely due to ejection from plane and PoW torture to shield him from all questions about his apparent never ending gaffes, mis statements and errors.
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