HousesGate feels like a big deal. Yet, since we are political junkies, LOTS of things feel like a big deal. Very little of it penetrates to the voting public.
Well, this is different.
Via Ambinder, here is a roundup of what Americans who aren't political junkies like us saw of HousingGate. The story made it not only to the Network news, but also to the local news broadcasts around the country where millions of Americans get their news.
How did it play out?
Well...Poor John Mccain!!
Here is what folks in Raleigh, North Carolina saw:
And here is what folks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin saw:
Ambinder has a few more from Pennsylvania.
And this is a compilation of the network news:
In other words, this is the gaffe that keeps on giving. Millions of Americans now know that Mccain a) owns seven houses b) HAS NO IDEA HOW MANY HOUSES HE HAS! It reinforces his age, his wealth, and most importantly, his out-of-touchness with Americans. This final point will become a narrative that will be continued at the Convention, next week, for sure.
We've got hook, our pathway, to define Mccain.
Who will Americans want to vote for? A celebrity with a decent health care plan, a good heart, an understanding of the economy? Or a guy who can be admired for his service, but doesn't know how many houses he has and has a disastrous economic policy?
Considering how important the economy is to Americans...Mccain is simply on the wrong side. I have no doubt that Obama is going to drill that point in from now until November.
FINALLY...we have a narrative.
Update:
Here is some of what people are seeing (from the comments):
McCain lost alot of votes today
One of my colleagues arrived at work today and asked me about housegate. She was visibly disgusted with John McCain. She was a Hillary supporter during the primary and an Obama holdout. I don't think she will be voting for John McCain. I can't imagine what the blue collar whites in Kentucky and West Virginia think about all this.
McCain needed a divided democratic party to win. He's now exposed as an enemy of all democrats and all hard working Americans struggling to pay the bills.
by GoogleBonhoeffer on Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 06:12:08 AM PDT
My father, when he heard this yesterday
was like, "How the hell can a man not know how many houses he has?"
By the way, my father is 60 today!! Love ya dad and God bless to those who may not have their father by their side now.
The Low Road Express: So low, an ant would be too big for it.
by sluggahjells on Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 06:11:13 AM PDT
It's visceral (23+ / 0-)
My husband, who is a low-information type, got the significance of this one right away. A home is most people's main asset; to not know how many are owned reeks of "filthy rich and doesn't give a damn."
The weak in courage is strong in cunning-William Blake
by beltane on Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 05:54:09 AM PDT
And via fivefouranonymous, here is an example of what folks are reading in their local paper:
WASHINGTON - John McCain may have created his own housing crisis.
Hours after a report that the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting didn't know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.
With the economy the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.
Think John Kerry sailboarding or the first President Bush wowed by a grocery store checkout scanner, Michael Dukakis riding in a tank or Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on.
"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."