It's no secret that I support Obama, but I'm fair minded, and even at this point, I'm willing to listen to what McCain has to say.
With that in mind, I was very interested in listening to Obama and McCain's responses at Rick Warren's Faith Forum last weekend.
Pastor Warren asked each of them for their definition of rich. For Obama, rich meant something above $150,000 to $250,000. He didn't stumble on giving his view, and that amount seems to be reasonably accepted as a common definition.
McCain, however, clearly didn't want to answer the question. It reminded me of George H.W. Bush going grocery shopping during the 1992 campaign, when he clearly did not know how much a gallon of milk cost.
Well, after a while, McCain said that rich was $5 million. Then he tried to make his response into a joke. "I want everyone to be rich," he said. One way would be rich is to marry rich, eh John?
I have nothing against rich people, and I wouldn't mind being rich myself, but there's a real difference between being rich and being obscene. To me, Cindy McCain's wealth, which is reported to be $100 million, is obscene. I don't know what charities she supports, and I'm sure that she does give away a lot of money, but if you have a net worth of $100 million, you're hoarding money, and that's not ethical in my book.
What could you do with $100 million? Health care for 100,000 uninsured Americans might be a nice gesture.
With that in mind, I was very interested in listening to Obama and McCain's responses at Rick Warren's Faith Forum last weekend.
Pastor Warren asked each of them for their definition of rich. For Obama, rich meant something above $150,000 to $250,000. He didn't stumble on giving his view, and that amount seems to be reasonably accepted as a common definition.
McCain, however, clearly didn't want to answer the question. It reminded me of George H.W. Bush going grocery shopping during the 1992 campaign, when he clearly did not know how much a gallon of milk cost.
Well, after a while, McCain said that rich was $5 million. Then he tried to make his response into a joke. "I want everyone to be rich," he said. One way would be rich is to marry rich, eh John?
I have nothing against rich people, and I wouldn't mind being rich myself, but there's a real difference between being rich and being obscene. To me, Cindy McCain's wealth, which is reported to be $100 million, is obscene. I don't know what charities she supports, and I'm sure that she does give away a lot of money, but if you have a net worth of $100 million, you're hoarding money, and that's not ethical in my book.
What could you do with $100 million? Health care for 100,000 uninsured Americans might be a nice gesture.
Is money invested in worthwhile business and industry, giving employment to human beings money that is wasted and obscene? Granted that some might not approve of the business that has made Mrs. McCain's wealth, still there have been people who have raised their families in the industry. Is this money more wasted than a bridge that goes to nowhere or rebuilding New Orleans below sea level? How about the worth of spending millions of dollars for various memorials, such as whatever is being built at the site of the World Trade Center?
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