Dems' attack theme: McCain's housesDENVER — As dozens of Democrats prepare to address their convention in Denver over the next four days,
three themes have become clear: hope, change, and John McCain's seven houses. Barack Obama's convention is shaping up to be the
toughest — and most negative — in the Democratic Party's recent history, a gathering modeled more on the Republican Party's attack-themed conventions than, in particular, on the determinedly high-minded Democratic National Convention in Boston four years ago. "You'll see folks in no uncertain terms
lay down exactly the differences between Barack Obama and John McCain," said Obama's press secretary, Bill Burton, who said
that contrast would be one of the convention's two core messages. The convention's goal, he said, will be to "make sure the American people know who Barack Obama is and where he's going to take this country. And let people know the crystal-clear choice between Obama, who wants to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington, and John McCain, who is just more of the same." Just last week, Obama and his top advisers settled on the content of that message:
attacking McCain as an out-of-touch plutocrat, and focusing on his botched response to a question from Politico's Mike Allen about how many houses he owns. Since that interview went online Aug. 21, Obama has released two harsh ads noting that McCain has, in fact, seven houses, and released a third negative ad on the first morning of the convention. His campaign — determined for much of the summer to cast McCain as the more negative of the candidates — has begun to treat the Republican with harsh derision.
"He either forgot how many
he has, misplaced the keys to those houses, or he just wasn't being truthful with those reporters," Gibbs said. (In fact, McCain had told Politico to check with his staff.)
On the grand stage in Denver, that mockery will translate into a series of speeches in which the "seven houses" theme may follow only "change" in frequency, speakers and others familiar with the planning said.
"You'll hear about the houses a lot," said Anna Burger, the chair of the Change to Win labor federation, who is scheduled to speak Tuesday. "We've got members who are losing are homes, and he can't even keep track," she said. "It's out of kilter."
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