They may not agree on how to handle Pakistan or what the "Bush Doctrine" means, but Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin both think Volkswagens are cool. The senior senator from Arizona counts a 2005 VW convertible among his 13 cars, and his running mate from the great state of Alaska drives a fire-engine-red Jetta diesel when she isn't chasing down moose on a snowmobile or carrying hockey teams or tanning beds in her state-issued Suburban.
Word that McCain drives a furrin car brought a quick response from the Obama campaign, which wanted to know just what country McCain is putting first. But the Obamaniacs missed the point. The only convertible VW imported to the states in 2005 was the Beetle. That's right – tough-as-nails John McCain drives the biggest chick car on the planet.
Should tomorrow night's Palin-Biden debate doom the Republican ticket, McCain can always try out for the lead in Legally Blonde, the musical.
We knew about Palin's government-provided Suburban, a hockey-mom prerequisite. Her SUV ownership reminds us that for some ever-growing families, a seven-passenger car is truly the most-efficient means of transport. Plus, it's big honkin' V8 is great for hauling snow machines and making a quick getaway during a Russian attack launched within view of your house. It's also surprising so strong a proponent of offshore drilling drives a car that can get better gas mileage than a Prius. It's a safe bet she isn't burning biodiesel in that Jetta though.
All this love for foreign cars led to an attack ad by Obama (below). McCain's got some nerve, buying furrin cars! The people who built them aren't even Americans! Well, except for those Honda employees who built the 2001 Honda sedan in his garage.
To be fair, the Obama ad has more distortions than a fun house mirror. McCain has as many foreign cars in his garage(s) as he has children, who might not want to be seen driving Buick LeSabres. But only one of them is registered in his name – the American-made Cadillac CTS he usually drives. Nine are registered in his wife's name (she drives a Lexus). The other three are GEM neighborhood electric cars. (Note to McCain: tell people you own electric cars.)
For the record, Obama ditched his Chrysler 300C for a Ford Escape Hybrid after taking heat for driving a car that gets 18 mpg while telling Detroit to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Photo by Flickr user Kossy, video courtesy BarackObama.com
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