There's a housing crisis in the Presidential campaign between presumptive nominees Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama and it's not about the mortgage meltdown and foreclosures.
Stung by criticism of his innumerable residences, McCain is examining Obama's own housing situation and insinuating that the Senator from Illinois obtained his "million dollar mansion" with the help of a convicted felon who received $14 million worth of taxpayers' money. The ad is a pushback against a spot released by the Obama campaign this week capitalizing on an interview during which McCain gave couldn't recall how many homes he and his wife Cindy owned. McCain's wife is the heir to a beer-distributor fortune commonly valued at $100 million.
The person linked to Obama in McCain's ads is Tony Rezko, a political fundraiser and real estate developer who was convicted on several felony counts related to charges that he and associates used political connections to demand kickbacks from companies that wanted to do business with the State of Illinois. Rezko was an early contributor in Obama's political career, but raised funds for both Democrats and Republicans. He was indicted along with Stuart Levine, a Republican fundraiser in 2006.
