Obama Launches TV Ad Mocking McCain's "Seven" Houses

August 21, 2008 3:00 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) was quick to jump on the "houses" issue surrounding Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Thursday. The presumptive Democratic nominee launched an ad on national cable exploiting McCain's inability to remember how many houses he owns.

"Maybe you're struggling just to pay the mortgage on your home," an announcer says in 30-second spot titled "Seven" before showing images of McCain meeting with President George W. Bush.

The ad then quotes McCain as saying, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." It then asks voters, "How many houses does McCain have? McCain lost track. He couldn't remember. Well, it's seven... worth thirteen million dollars."

During an interview with Politico published Wednesday, McCain was asked how many houses he and his millionaire wife owns. The Arizona senator had replied, "I think - I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."

Politico then gives "the correct answer," citing McCain staff. The four-term senator has four houses, located in Arizona, California and Virginia. It says Newsweek has reported it to be seven.

Cindy McCain, McCain's wife, is a member of the prominent Hensley clan of Arizona and chairs one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the United States.

Obama issued a full-throated attack against McCain in an event in Chester, Virginia. "I guess if you think that being rich means you've got to make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong. But if you're like me, and you've got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now you might have a different perspective," he said.

"And by the way, the answer is John McCain has seven homes," Obama added.

But McCain spokesman Brian Rogers shot back, "Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?," according to MSNBC.

Rogers was referring to Illinois lobbyist and real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko who was convicted of 16 of 24 charges including fraud and money laundering earlier this year. Obama has received over $200,000 in contributions from Rezko, but has defended himself by saying Rezko "had supported a wide range of candidates all throughout Illinois" and that his campaign had returned the contributions.