During the Saddleback Church presidential forum on Saturday, when Pastor Rick Warren asked both Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to define where “you move from middle class to rich,” McCain reflexively joked, “How about $5 million?” He then added that “it doesn’t matter really what my definition of rich is.” Noting that “McCain’s answer is just profoundly out-of-touch,” Ezra Klein put together a graph showing just how off-base McCain’s definition is compared to actual income distribution:
Update
In New Mexico today, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) mocked McCain’s definition, saying that it’s “reflected in his policies“:
“Which I guess if you’re making $3 million a year, you’re middle class,” said Obama, admitting that maybe McCain was joking.
But that’s reflected in his policies,” Obama continued, “where for people making more than $2.5 million, he’s giving folks a $500,000 tax break. And so this is a fundamental difference in this election.”
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