McCain: 7 houses, 13 cars

[Covenant]

Yeah, but raising taxes in one highly specific ultra-exclusive area is not "raising taxes," otherwise McCain will be "raising taxes" too, since I'm pretty sure he's raising taxes somewhere in some area as well. To the vast majority of Americans, the 99.99 percent who do not make more than 250k or 100k per year, your income taxes will be less burdensome. If you're making more than 100k or 250k a year then you're achieving a level of personal success that can afford the minor taxation increases at the low end, and if you're in the 500k, 1,000k brackets then seriously go to hell, you can afford to pay more, you're disproportionately benefitting from the system. ;D

[General Zod]

Yeah, but raising taxes in one highly specific ultra-exclusive area is not "raising taxes," otherwise McCain will be "raising taxes" too, since I'm pretty sure he's raising taxes somewhere in some area as well. To the vast majority of Americans, the 99.99 percent who do not make more than 250k or 100k per year, your income taxes will be less burdensome. If you're making more than 100k or 250k a year then you're achieving a level of personal success that can afford the minor taxation increases at the low end, and if you're in the 500k, 1,000k brackets then seriously go to hell, you can afford to pay more, you're disproportionately benefitting from the system. ;D

Uhm, yes? I'm pretty sure that's the point I was getting at with the "what McSame usually tries claiming" bit.

[Covenant]

True, but I think it's important to put the clarification first, and the "raise taxes" second, because the moment you say "Well, he will raise taxes..." you've already lost your connection with the people you're probably talking to about this. It was a style quibble, not a substance one, I figured that you were able to read things in proper context, but your audience may not be of like intelligence.

[Hotfoot]

He's made plenty of huge lies, like saying that he always knew Iraq was going to be a long and difficult war (before the invasion, he said it would not be difficult at all), or saying that he is against deregulation (he supported it for his entire political career until this financial crisis blew up in his face).

If the last 7 years have taught us anything, it's that the right-wing support base of the Republican Party has no problem with lies. They would rather vote for a moron and a liar who finished at the bottom of his class but claims to share their "cultural values" than for an intelligent, competent man who eats arugula rather than bacon-fried chicken. As I said before, it's all demographic narcissism.

The more time between the contradicting statements, the easier it becomes to rationalize it. What I mean is something so blatant, so damning, that only the most rabid of supporters would disregard it.

But yeah, people in general are willing to put up with lies from someone they support. It takes a LOT of convincing otherwise, especially when you combine Politics and Religion as closely as we have in the United States Those two things are polarizing enough as is by themselves.

[Mayabird]

I doubt the people that need to be reacting negatively to this ad are going to. Chances are they're just going to rationalize it away with the reasoning, "Well, he's got 11 American cars, that's good enough in my book. Besides, he probably doesn't even drive the foreign ones."

There is another possible angle here no one has considered, though this one (if true) would make him look even worse; he doesn't even realize that Honda and Volkswagon are foreign companies. You may think this is ridiculous, but I have known many people who, being so habituated to it, thought that companies like Toyota, with names that are obviously not from some form of English, are American. I seriously, seriously hope that McCain isn't that stupid, but I know that quite a few people who will vote for him are. Because I grew up around those idiots.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Yeah, but raising taxes in one highly specific ultra-exclusive area is not "raising taxes," otherwise McCain will be "raising taxes" too, since I'm pretty sure he's raising taxes somewhere in some area as well. To the vast majority of Americans, the 99.99 percent who do not make more than 250k or 100k per year, your income taxes will be less burdensome. If you're making more than 100k or 250k a year then you're achieving a level of personal success that can afford the minor taxation increases at the low end, and if you're in the 500k, 1,000k brackets then seriously go to hell, you can afford to pay more, you're disproportionately benefitting from the system. ;D

I strongly suspect that a lot more than .01% (a ten thousandth of the population) earns over 250,000 dollars per annum, and I am certain for 100,000 dollars per annum. Mike earns +100,000 per annum, and he's a Canadian. Do you think he's a Wall Street magnate? Everyone once in awhile you pick up on something that clues you in that even those on your side of the fence might be taken in by absurd caricatures and exaggerations, and don't bother with numbers.

[Ma Deuce]

There is another possible angle here no one has considered, though this one (if true) would make him look even worse; he doesn't even realize that Honda and Volkswagon are foreign companies. You may think this is ridiculous, but I have known many people who, being so habituated to it, thought that companies like Toyota, with names that are obviously not from some form of English, are American. I seriously, seriously hope that McCain isn't that stupid, but I know that quite a few people who will vote for him are. Because I grew up around those idiots.

Well I've never heard of anyone who thinks that Toyota and VW are actually American companies, however I have run into plenty of idiots who believe that because Detroit has a handful of plants in Canada or Mexico, therefore ALL their cars are made there, and that because Toyota has a few plants in the US, ALL there cars they sell here are made here (for the record, it's barely half, compared to over 80% for Detroit), and therefore, Toyota is "more American" than GM et al, never mind the fact that Toyota's US-made models are still almost always designed and engineered in Japan.