Not knowing the price as gas and doesn't even care.

How stupid could McCain be.

The irony here is that the elitist meme towards Obama was pushed HARD, and we're seeing news of McCain's elitism day after day.  A bunch of mansions in which he neglects to pay taxes on, no concept of what the average person deals with in terms of fuel prices, and he's got more credit card debt on one card than most people have in their entire savings.  We win this argument by a landslide, and we need to continue bringing it up because too many people still see McCain as someone they can relate to.

McCain was not asked what the price of gas was. He was asked what the price was the last time he pumped it.  He hasn't pumped it since he got Secret Service protection and doesn't remember.

It will be interesting to see if this can be spun into not knowing the price of gas. Of course, what the price is depends on where you live.

I think this is overblown. I suppose I don't mind since the Right has been making bigger mountains out of smaller mole hills for years, but when I read the question and answer I took the answer to mean (adding clarification in brackets):

"Oh, I don't remember [when I last pumped my own gas]. Now there's Secret Service protection. But I've done it for many, many years. I don't recall [how much it cost at the time] and frankly, I don't see how it matters."

It was dumb of him not to immediately follow up with something like: "But I know what the price is now, over $4 per gallon--and it's all because the irresponsible Democrats won't drill in ANWAR."

--Kibitzer

we all know that!

If his oppo research team had discovered McCain didn't pay property taxes on his house and didn't know the price of gas, Romney would probably be the nominee.

He didn't lose FL and CA to McCain by that much.

For what it's worth, Mr. desmoinesdem thinks it's possible Romney's oppo researchers knew about McCain's property tax delinquency but didn't use it because perhaps Romney has some tax problems of his own. I doubt that, though.

Okay, I may not support McCain, but get real. When was the last time Obama pumped gas and how much did it cost? Come on guys, this is weak.

Obama is getting at least as much of a free ride from the media as McCain.  He's certainly not receiving the kind of mugging that the Clintons, Gore or Kerry got, and I don't expect him to.  If he wants to make an issue of McCain not pumping his own gas, he can, but media bias should be the least of his concerns.

This like the 'i stopped beating my wife' issue is another irrelevant distraction.

Of course a millionaire Senator running for President with secret service protection doesn't know the price of gas!

I know we want to hurt McCain, but lets not pretend to be outraged about this. This shouldn't be damaging to his campaign.

His insane tax policy, his insane Iraq policy... they outrage me. This is a complete irrelevance.

The price of gas is a HUGE issue but McCain not knowing the exact price is 'gotcha' politics that means nothing.

The Republicans would be all over this if Obama made this kind of slip up although I think it's a minor one and I know what McCain was probably trying to say.  We need to go on the attack here.  I support Obama 100% but at some point he needs to start attacking McCain hard.  He's trying to define himself now to the American public which is the reason he's been positive.  However, come September he needs to attack and attack viciously.  You know it's funny...voters always claim they hate negative campaigning but they love a good boxing match, and the negative ads always seem to resonate with them as well.  I understand that Obama and perhaps some of his strategists might have a problem attacking McCain because of his record of service in the military; however, the GOP had no problem attacking Max Cleland and John Kerry.  Let's not repeat Kerry's mistakes and inability to attack his opponent and defend against attacks.  

One of the single most important issues to the people who are going to vote this November is the price of gas. The man can't be so out of touch that he doesn't even have a clue. Does he know what the price of a barrel of oil is going for right now? Does he know about the politics and countries involved with that? How not knowing the price of gas (even a range of prices or a recognition that it greatly affects the entire economy and tens of millions of people) can be dismissed as an ineffectual gotcha game is not the issue. McCain had the chance to at least feign interest in something other than the comforts of his rarified existence shielding him from the fact that many people attempt to have hair trigger control of the pump handle because the cost means that some other necessity will have to be reduced.

These statements are great BUT the DNC needs to make sure that the statements get legs & are repeated often by broadcasters/talking heads as talking point controversies. If a Democrat said anything half as bad as this the GOP would ensure the talking heads had their talking points regarding out of touch politicians by the next AM so it didn't seem like they were targeting him, rather it was a controversy that merely arose.  So it has to have legs now & walk.

the cost of gasoline doesn't matter? Or is he saying that it doesn't matter that he doesn't know how much it is?

demagued about the gas tax one would expect he would have atleast some sense of what the price of gas is.  This is just a symptom of McCain's ignorance of how middle America is really hurting and is a sure tell of why his approach to the economy is so Hoover-esque. He just simply has NO CLUE how badly middle America is hurting right now.

I don't think Democrats are invulnerable on the "no clue how badly middle America is hurting right now" front.  Any party that's been as complicit as the Democrats in the economic rape and selling of America better be careful about throwing stones.  

I work on a custodial crew part time and what I hear is not sympathetic to the Democrats -- especially when Obama came out against the gas tax amnesty.

We think the Republicans are out of touch.  The people I work with think all politicians are out of touch . . . and they don't really believe that the Democrats care/hear/understand any better than the Republicans.

The cynicism is beyond deep . . . it's fundamental:  Congress works on bribery and working folks are going to get screwed no matter who gets elected.

Figure out how to answer that and you've won the election.  Keep coming down on the "elitist" side, and you'll lose.  

I wonder if one reason the newz report push McBush's "mistakes and admissions" is that the Obama campaign doesn't push them with the same bulldog, ankle gripping, determination as the GOP propaganda machine does.

If one of Obama's shoes come untied a million faxes go screaming to every conceivable outlet claiming it as sign if incompetence and inexperience.

And the lazy newzies have their talking points handed to them.

I wonder if one reason the newz  doesn't report McBush's "mistakes and admissions" is that the Obama campaign doesn't push them with the same bulldog, ankle gripping, determination as the GOP propaganda machine does.

If one of Obama's shoes come untied a million faxes go screaming to every conceivable outlet claiming it as sign if incompetence and inexperience.

And the lazy newzies have their talking points handed to them.

Do tell.  Is it honest? Is it realistic? Is it really his or did he just crib it from Bill Clinton?

"It's hard to see how this isn't damaging to John McCain's presidential candidacy."

Oh, it's pretty easy to see, actually.  Since it's a manufactured lie by Think Progress.  McCain knows the price of gas.  He was answering a different question.  Think Progress distorted the facts because that's what they do.

The premise of this post is not true, and not even within a reasonable fudge of being true. McCain has been addressing gas prices, and oil prices, and their impact on other goods and service prices on the campaign trail almost daily for the last couple of weeks.

Contra Patterico, above, this is not typical of Think Progress. They're usually pretty scrupulous about getting things right, or at least getting things defensible. This is neither. (Google is your friend.)