Just to follow up on Josh's post, this is the type of lede from the Associated Press that can serve as a real problem for a presidential campaign.

Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year, Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own.

At a time when the Democrats are taking Chuck Schumer's advice -- that while "John McCain who wears $500 shoes, has six houses, and comes from one of the richest families in his state... It's Barack Obama who climbed up the hard way, and that's why he wants middle-class tax cuts and better schools for our kids" -- and McCain's comments about a $5 million annual salary being the cut off for being labeled "rich" are being ridiculed in strong web ads by the Democratic National Committee (this one goes as far as explicitly labeling McCain as "out of touch" -- and don't be surprised if it's not the last time you see this line of attack before November), McCain could ill afford a gaffe of this magnitude.

This is kind of a game-changing type of mistake. While it relates to the candidate's personal attributes rather than his policy positions, do not think for a second that it does not have the potential to be as damaging to McCain's candidacy as, say, Jerry Ford's statement in 1976 that Poland did not fall under the Iron Curtain was to his candidacy, or John Kerry's statement that he voted for the war funding before he voted against it was to his -- McCain's inability to recall just how many houses he owns gets to the heart of why he is unsuited to be President at this moment of time: He is fundamentally out of touch on the issue of the economy.

The only question at this point, I suppose, is whether Mike Allen recorded this interview on his trusty tape recorder or whether there is video footage of McCain flubbing awkwardly flubbing his answer.