( L - R ) Obama, McCain

WASHINGTON (AP):

John McCain may have created his own housing crisis.

Hours after a report that the Republican presi-dential nominee-in-waiting didn't know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.

With the economy ranking as the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.

Think John Kerry sailboarding, or the president's father, former President H.W. Bush, wowed by a grocery store checkout scanner, Michael Dukakis riding in a tank, or Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on.

"I think I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where I'll have them get to you."

Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states Arizona, California and Virginia. Newsweek recently estimated the two owned at least seven properties.