An odd stone from Obama glass house

I noted that the Obama campaign has recently castigated John McCain and his wife for owning several pieces of residential property.

I don't know how many of the six or seven properties are actually lived in by the McCain family and how many might simply be investment properties.

The charge from the Obama camp is clear however - Having wealth and owning multiple pieces of property is bad.

I'm sure that no self-respecting liberal Democrat would ever amass a portfolio of homes like that.

Coming from Sen. Obama, who owns a $1 million-plus home in Chicago's exclusive Hyde Park neighborhood, the disparagement of a wealthy property owner is quite ingenuous. There is also a more serious problem with the Obama camp's charges. It is highly unlikely that Sen. McCain needed the likes of felon and Obama friend, Tony Resko, to help him out in acquiring his property.

It is also unlikely that McCain needed access to the below-market-rate interest loan that Sen. Obama obtained to finance his mansion. Why do you suppose that the senator got to pay less than the common person for whom he advocates so vigorously?

Just so that the rest of us won't get called out for insensitively owning nice homes, it would be good to know "The Obama Rules for Housing."

How many houses can be owned for personal use? How many can one own for investment purposes? What should the maximum value be for any one personal or investment property that one might own? Is $1 million the ceiling? If one doesn't own, but rents, what's the maximum that one can pay for rent?

And please, oh please, someone tell me what all of this has to do with one's qualification for being president of the United States.

Charles F. Falk

Schaumburg