McCain takes heat over another U.S. housing crisis ... his own

Last Updated: Friday, August 22, 2008 | 2:18 AM ET

CBC News

The race for the White House just widened to include a few more addresses other than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. this week after Republican presidential hopeful John McCain acknowledged in an interview he did not know how many homes he and his billionaire heiress wife currently own.

McCain, whose campaign has gone to great lengths to portray Democratic rival Barack Obama as an elitist who is out of touch with voters, couldn't come up with an exact number when asked Wednesday by a reporter from the U.S. website Politico about the exact number.

"I think I'll have my staff get to you," McCain replied. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

The McCain campaign later replied that the Arizona senator and his wife Cindy own at least four houses.

However, property records reviewed by the Associated Press show McCain and his family appear to own at least eight homes: A ranch and two condos in Arizona; three condos in Coronado, Calif.; a condo in La Jolla, Calif.; and another in Arlington, Va.

The number of houses is a bit trickier to determine, since the ranch has at least four houses and a two-storey cabin on it.

The Obama campaign immediately seized on McCain's apparent gaffe in the midst of widespread housing foreclosures across the country, releasing an attack ad claiming McCain owned seven homes worth a collective total of $13 million US.

Republicans launch website on Obama's Rezko dealings

In turn, the Republican National Committee responded Thursday with a website highlighting Obama's ties to Chicago businessman Antonin (Tony) Rezko, a friend and contributor who was convicted in June on more than a dozen felonies in a corruption scandal.

Obama and his wife bought their home in Chicago in 2005 for $1.6 million after getting advice from Rezko. The corruption case had no connection to Obama, and Obama has said it was a mistake to work with Rezko on buying the house.

McCain's wife has an estimated worth of more than $100 million from her inheritance from her father's beer distribution company.

Meanwhile, Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported making $4.2 million in 2007, much of it from royalties from the Illinois senator's two bestselling memoirs.