Arugula-eating Barack Obama, back from his grocery shopping at Whole Foods, settles down in his $1.65M Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood, 6400 square feet, complete with a granite-floored kitchen, six bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, a double steam shower, a marble powder room, a library with Honduran mahogany glass-doored bookcases, a music room, a solarium, four fireplaces, a 1000-bottle wine cellar, beveled glass doors and a four-car garage. (Barack, Michelle, and their two daughters had simply outgrown their prior home, a $415,000 condo.) Clearly Barack Obama got some great mortgage tips from his caucus colleagues Chris Dodd (D-CN) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) because he managed to get a 5.65% interest rate compared to the going range for "super super jumbo" loans of such size, compared to the going rate of 5.93-6% at the time, without paying points.
Not to mention the fact the Obamas purchased the mansion for $300K below asking price. Now originally the house and the adjoining lot had been sold together, but the owner listed them separately. The Obamas decided they wanted the lot, or at least a piece of it, but decided the $625,000 asking price was a little too rich for their blood. But what a stroke of good luck and coincidence! Mrs. Rezko closed on the parcel for the owner's asking price on the very same day the Obamas closed on their house and then sold a choice 10-foot strip of adjacent land to the Obamas. Tony Rezko, of course, is the longtime Obama friend, fundraiser and contributor, recently convicted of 16 counts of influence peddling. Isn't it amazing how despite all their differences, the Clintons and the Obamas seem to be like Teflon when it comes to questionable real estate transactions, while the people they're dealing with get convicted?
But, you know, the Obamas really needed that loan. Michelle had just been promoted by the University of Chicago Hospitals to VP, and they more than doubled her salary to $317K. (Well, that's fair, isn't it? Doesn't your typical breadwinner's salary more than double with a promotion?) And, of course, there's Barack's meager Senate salary of $162K and his little $2.27M book deal with Random House. But poor and middle class citizens know that Barack Obama feels their pain--that arugula is getting to be a little expensive, after all. And corn ethanol subsidies are central to Obama's alternative fuel objectives--even though Mexican peasants can't afford to buy corn tortillas anymore.
For instance, when Sandra Burt in New Hampshire lost her job at 65 and was having trouble making ends meet to pay her $2900 monthly prescription bills and she and her husband, whom had cashed in his life insurance and sold his beloved truck, were living in a trailer in the winter with the thermostat set a 64, Obama got it. He tossed her some tissues and then went into his "change" stump speech. And he remembers the incident enough to use Burt's story at subsequent rallies, wowing the huddled masses with his empathy, compassion, vision and oratorical prowess. Oh, and what did Barack Obama and his campaign do to see Sandra Burt got the help she needed in the interim? Nothing; she and her husband were still living in the cold trailer. Nothing like politically exploiting the misery of a senior citizen, raising unrealistic hopes.
Now there's a reason I'm writing this post. Barack Obama has been shamelessly attacking John McCain for not being certain about the number of properties (in particular, investment properties) his wife Cindy owns or controls. Cindy McCain is a main beneficiary of her father's beer distributorship and (I believe) is the current CEO. When John McCain married Cindy, he signed a prenuptial agreement. Cindy has not given John a blank checkbook; when his campaign imploded last year, he was flying coach and carrying luggage through airports. He was having to do things like borrow against his life insurance for a modest amount of campaign cash, while former venture captialist Mitt Romney was loaning his campaign tens of millions.
Personally, I think McCain and the campaign shouldn't have been caught off-guard by that question, because I think Kerry had been asked similar questions during the 2004 campaign. But in this case, McCain wanted to get the right answer for the reporter, and it's entirely possible that John isn't aware of recent investment transactions not under his control. But let's face the fact that many Washington politicians will have a home in their district/state as well as in the DC area and possibly a vacation home as well. Few Americans own two or three homes.
I think, though, McCain wants to stress the point it's not a bad thing to want to achieve financial success. Even a biracial politician can become a millionaire by writing two autobiographies before the age of 46.
But shame on Obama for attacking McCain as an out-of-touch elitist. McCain spent years as a prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton in very spartan cells. He has arrows in his back for trying to push a 2001 tax cut package oriented more towards lower/middle income Americans. He has refused to ask for corrupting earmarks. He has constantly pushed for political reform and against questionable, cozy relationships like Obama-Rezko.
