Remind me

Which presidential candidate is the elitist who is out of touch with ordinary Americans?

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.

It would be easy to paint this exchange as an elderly man forgetting basic information about himself and, for all I know, that could be what’s going on here. But I doubt it. More likely, what we have here is a candidate who is uncomfortable with the attention focused on his wealth at a time when he’s attempting to paint his opponent as an elitist snob and himself as John Everyman. In this case, it’s every man who ever forgot how many homes he owns.

The reason most people can’t relate to this situation isn’t that they never have any trouble remembering how many homes they own, it’s that they are never asked this question in the first place. It’s like being asked how much you pay your butler: It’s not relevant to most Americans’ circumstances.

But you gotta admire McCain’s attempt to muddy the water by referring to condominiums, though it seems the straight talker quickly realized that just because a property is a condo doesn’t explain why one would not know he owns it. I mean, that’s someone who is really determined not to tell the truth.

Such steely resolve.

People who lose their homes to foreclosure have no problem remembering how many homes they own.

UPDATE: Perhaps this explains some of McCain’s confusion.

UPDATE 2: The liberal media do their duty.

UPDATE 3: Obama’s ad.