Pictures of each candidate's home, with values, from the Boston Globe

[Monument]

http://realestate.boston.com/galleries/pres_res/1.html

This is from the real estate section of the Boston Sunday Globe. It has pictures of each candidate's home, with a little blurb about the value of the home.

I'm not sure this is entirely newsworthy, but it is certainly interesting information about the candidates (and the President).

[mainer]

1. Fun! Thank you!

I was kind of taken aback by Kucinich's home, though! And the assessed value!

[UTUSN]

10. Dennis's Is Appraised Less Than MY Shack! Wow. n/t

[Jerseycoa]

18. DK's was perfect!

:D

Really special.

[elsiesummers]

53. DK's home cries for HGTV show "Curb Appeal" makeover.

I really like that Dennis K's house is the most like the houses I have lived in - can relate to that.

Would bet the assessment value is low - probably at least 70K - maybe 100K. A lot of real estate has gone way up in past five years - and assessments haven't caught up.

But seriously - he needs shutters and window boxes, and maybe a new siding/paint color.

The house lacks the personal (perhaps female) touch.

[ngGale]

113. That was fun and I have to agree that DK's house is...

perfect for the HGTV 'Curb Appeal' makeover too. lol Hey, maybe we could call the show and get him a free house job. lol Yes, you can tell that's he not married or even has a 'significant other.' You gotta love a man that lives in a house like that. Honest man.

[juajen]

122. I agree

Truly perfect. I love that man.

[tabasco]

2. Good find - interesting! Thanks.

I like Kucinich's little house the best !

[Bronco69]

3. Interesting!

Thanks for the post. :-)

[ShaneGR]

4. Interesting stuff in there

Dean and Edwards homes look the coziest. Kerry's 6 million dollar home (6 fireplaces and 6 baths) looks the crappiest.

Kucinich lives in a 26K mini-home. Sharpton's house is actually very nice, I like the white.

Clark's home is very, well, stately.

[Monument]

5. Kerry's home would sell for over $20 Million

I'm not sure how it works in other cities, but since real estate has absolutely skyrocketed in Boston, the taxes have not followed. Thus the assessed value of a home, from which the tax bill is determined, is low.

Thus, if I pay $3K a year in taxes, and my home increased in value in three years from $200K to $600K, my tax bill would not also rise to $9K.

Bottom line, Kerry's home would fetch over $20Mil on the market.

[KC21304]

12. That's not how it works in my town.

The taxes on a $130K home are approximately $2,400 and on a $350K house are $8,000.

[Monument]

14. Yeah I figured it was probably not like that in other areas

the average single family home in Massachusetts goes for over $450K, so the taxes people can afford to pay are relatively low compared to other parts of the country. We still pay a lot in real estate taxes, but consider in Dallas a $450K home is a mansion owned by an oilman with high real estate taxes, in Boston a $450K home is owned by a policeman and has relatively low taxes compared to the John Kerry's who live in their $20Mil mansions.

[politick]

74. I don't think so...

the avg. single-family home in MA is $430K +/-, and while his home is nice, and in swanky Back Bay, I SERIOUSLY doubt it would fetch $20M. You son't hink $7M is enough?!?! That's even a bit expensive for what those homes are going for in Boston righ tnow.

[Monument]

88. Oh yeah?

The home is in Beacon Hill, not Back Bay. It's 9500 square feet. That's big by Dallas standards, huge by Massachusetts standards, and absolutely mammoth by Boston standards. He lives on the absolutely 100% nicest location in all of Boston, Louisburg Square. It is in the heart of downtown boston, where a 1000 square foot apartment costs $1 Million. A 2 bedroom apartment is considered luxurious. His house includes parking for several cars, has a kitchen made out of an old chapel, etc.

$7 Mil is expensive for a home, but we're seriously talking about one of the nicest homes in all of Boston here. (City of Boston, not including the burbs) In Boston you pay very close attention to $/square foot. Around the 1000 square foot range (a typical 2 bedroom) in Beacon Hill the prices are about $700-1000/square foot. When you start to get larger, you have to pay through the nose for the size because where else will you find 9500 square feet apartment in Boston?

The top homes in Boston - Back Bay and Beacon Hill go for the $20-25 Million range. It looks crappy in those pictures, but it's very traditional city living and extremely charming. It's like living in the best residence on Park Avenue in NYC.

[politick]

98. maybe you're right!

I meant to write Beacon Hill, not Back Bay, so thanks for that. Perhaps it would run that high, and I didn't realize it was in Louisburg Sq. Those homes are incredibly gorgeous. I used to wander around the hill at night, perrking into windows, to see if I could creep out any Bluebloods....

Still, I haven't heard of too many homes going for that much, but if it's as crazy-whack as you say, it could be.

[Skidmore]

7. Six bathrooms...

Wouldn't buy it just because it has six bathrooms. Way too much plumbing for me.

Actually, DK's house is kinda like mine. I like a man who's not pretentious.

[progressivebydesign]

44. My house is more like Dean's than any other.

All nice places. Kucinich's house is like my last one.. but you can't even buy a mobile home for 26k in California! Of course, if he's lived there a long time, then the assessed value is the value of when it was sold last.. so that price may be deceiving.. on all the homes.

[hyphenate]

49. Re: Kerry's House

Unless you've never been to Boston, I don't think you can appreciate rowhouses. They're not much to look at from the outside, but his is on Beacon Hill, right behind the State House, and that is MORE than prime real estate--that's genuine, American Revolution real estate and the historical "promised land."

[LandOLincoln]

80. Exactly. That's a Georgian town house and it's probably

200 years old. 'Way cool--especially the 6 fireplaces.

"Georgian Colonial became the rave in New England and the Southern colonies during the 1700's. Stately and symmetrical, these homes imitated the larger, more elaborate Georgian homes which were being built in England. But the genesis of the style goes back much farther. During the reign of King George I in the early 1700's, and King George III later in the century, Britons drew inspiration from the Italian Renaissance and from ancient Greece and Rome.

Georgian ideals came to New England via pattern books, and became a favorite of well-to-do colonists who wanted their homes to convey a sense of dignity and prestige. But in America, Georgian homes were less ornate than their British cousins, and there were many variations in the style."

http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-georgiancolonial.htm

Robert Adam, anyone? Andrea Palladio??

[spooky3]

134. I love Sharpton's house.

[eyesroll]

6. Amazingly modest homes for a few of them...

Dean and Clark, I think, have chosen very modestly for their income level.
Of course, the prize goes to Kucinich.

[juajen]

124. You have to consider the real estate prices in each state

Values in Little Rock are pretty low. Clark's house is a very nice one. Yes, I have lived there.

[redqueen]

8. Thanks for posting!

I appreciate having the chance to see Kucinich's house, and I love what they wrote about it - a true American dream home! :D

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. damn, Sharpton's got a nice place

He's got a nice home for someone who, I'm still not sure exactly how he gets paid.

[Monument]

11. I agree!

I think that Sharpton's place is very, very nice. Right in Brooklyn too, which isn't exactly Manhattan, but quite an expensive place to buy a home.

I think that Edward's house is exactly what I'd think someone like him would own. What a nice looking home.

I think that Dean's place looks suprisingly modest for the Governor of Vermont who is married to a doctor.

DK's bachelor pad could use a new paint job.

[KaraokeKarlton]

17. Dean lived in that same house throughout his governorship

Vermont doesn't have a Governor's mansion. His house isn't much bigger than the one I live in. I only have one garage, though.

[Bombtrack]

23. The state doesn't even have a governors mansion, but people get angry when

it's called obscure

The mayor of Indianapolis could make a more credible transition in a wartime presidential election

[dsc]

26. California didn't when Jerry Brown was governor

and I don't even know that it has one now.

[LandOLincoln]

69. California did and does, Brown just chose not to live in it.

[DemBones DemBones]

94. Or the former mayor of Cleveland?!!

:7 :7 :7

[dsc]

99. I can tell you flat out

Cleveland doesn't have a mayor's mansion.

[bloom]

108. 'course Lugar tried running once

and even with being Senator (besides Mayor of Indianapolis) - didn't go anywhere.

[goodhue]

36. DK's house is not a bachelor pad

He bought the house in 1971 and lived there during his first two marriages. With three bedrooms and 1200 square feet it is a large house by middle America family standards.

[NashVegas]

50. 1200 Sq FT is Large?

Huh?

for a single person, or a couple, who doesn't entertain and doesn't collect (much) it would be spacious.

I have to admit, as cool as Dennis is, IMO the house is fug-ugly.

[no name no slogan]

66. For a number of people, 1200 sq ft IS large.

My own home, in Minneapolis, is about 1100 square feet. It's 1.5 stories, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, with a (soon to be) finished basement and upper 1/2 story.

My next-door neighbors' home, similar to mine, is only 900 sq ft. The one next to mine is 1100 sq. ft., and most of the others on my block are of a similar size.

Here's the kicker: do you know what my house was appraised at last year, when we refinanced? $225,000. And that's on the low end for houses in Minneapolis in a "good neighborhood". Housing costs here are ridiculous, and getting worse.

Most of my homeowning friends who live in the city itself have similar-sized homes, with similar price tags.

Do you know what the kicker is? His own parents NEVER owned a home. They lived in apartments their whole lives. I bet this place would have seemed like a PALACE to his folks.

Just another reason why I like DK-- he's one of us.

[MercutioATC]

61. My last APARTMENT was almost 1200 sq. ft. It's a small house...

[prodigal_green]

78. Brooklyn house

If Sharpton bought this house over five years ago, I would almost guarantee that the price has tripled. All Brooklyn real-estate has skyrocketed. He probably bought it for around $200K or so. My little apartment in Queens doubled in value in less than two years.

[ShaneGR]

13. Speaking fees

And I think he gets a salary from the Political group he formed in NYC. Can't remember the name though. Always struck me as a used-car salesman, but the man is friggin hilarious on the stump.

[Jerseycoa]

15. I enjoyed that

Thanks for posting. :)

I know the homes in Sharpton's neighborhood. This is an odd description, "plain, undistinguished frame house," for a huge Victorian.

White House: Appraised value: $408,000,000

Thank you again, that was really great.

[bloom]

109. "plain, undistinguished frame house,"

I didn't get that either. Made me wonder if I was looking at the same house. :shrug:

[Killarney]

16. My favorite was Edwards', I'd say

Clark's was nice, too.

I was shocked by Kucinich's house.

[goodhue]

38. What's so shocking about Kucinich's house?

He talks about buying this house in 1971 on the stump all the time. Maybe you've never heard him in person.

[Killarney]

52. No offense

but it's just absolutely ugly. That blue color is so... not from this decade. The house looks like it hasn't been updated since 1971. I just think it's kind of strange for a Congressman, that's all. :shrug:

[ComerPerro]

123. I think its refreshing

For the same reason

[fiorello]

19. Dean-Kerry rivalry reported in Boston Globe

I hope this gets posted in editorials - I don't have enough posts.

Today's Boston Globe has an article about the bitter rivalry between Kerry and Dean, between Kerry aides and Dean aides. The link is:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/02/09/with_roles_reversed_kerry_and_dean_keep_up_sniping/

This is poison for the party. I'm sure the bad guys are keeping tabs on the Kerry-Dean fight for future use against the winner; but I am mostly worried about the bitter feelings created among their respective supporters.

In a sense, candidates are like children - they bring their personal fights with friends home with them. We (as supporters) have to be the adults.

Excerpts:

Last March, after falsely accusing rivals John F. Kerry and John Edwards of sidestepping their support for the Iraq war before a largely antiwar audience of California Democrats, presidential candidate Howard Dean decided to make amends.
He sent a handwritten letter of apology to Edwards. Only.

The mutual contempt between Dean and Kerry has only worsened since.

As Dean rose in the polls last fall and became regarded as the party's front-runner, Kerry griped about what he considered soft media coverage and accused the former Vermont governor of double talk on the war, Medicare cuts, and raising the Social Security retirement age....

Today, their roles reversed since Kerry wrested the front-runner mantle, Dean is struggling to stay in the primary race but is also relishing the renewed media scrutiny of Kerry -- which Dean's staff is actively promoting.

Behind the scenes, the Kerry and Dean opposition research and communications staffs have been engaged in a fierce battle for the most negative coverage of each other's candidate.

Full article:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/02/09/with_roles_reversed_kerry_and_dean_keep_up_sniping/

[maddezmom]

24. doesn't seem to be any loved lost between the two n/t

[MrChupon]

20. Kucinich's house: value?

What sort of neighboorhood does a 1,200 sq foot house have to be in to have an value of $26,000? I mean I understand it is a modest abode and everything, but is this really accurate? I pay that in 3 years rent on an apartment in a midwestern college town! Is this really true in a major metropolitan area like Cleveland?

[dsc]

25. Cleveland has about the lowest housing values of any major city

but even with that, I find that very low. I think it is more like 50k or so.

[Monument]

27. Appraised value vs. What it will sell for = 2 different things

of course, $26k is absurdly low!

[dsc]

28. The other ones seemed in line

with what they would actually sell for. I admit I am no expert on that but all of those seemed reasonable for what they were. Thus I am assuming they are listing real values and not tax ones. In Ohio, if that is tax value the real value is actual a bit under 3 times as much (we acess at 35% of market value). That would make it around 80k.

[Monument]

29. Kerry's home is assessed at $6Mil would sell for $20Mil

and the sales price would be in line with your 300% difference between assessed value and sales price.
I'm not sure about the other homes. Boston real estate is ridiculous.

[dsc]

32. I can't believe a person would pay 20 million for that

Though it does have an elevator, which is kind of sweet. That is way to high for a 12 room house.

[MercutioATC]

62. Assessment values are NOT that much lower than appraised values.

Yes, they're generally more concervative, but the "assessed value" of a home is usually within 20%. Most agencies then take 35% of that assessed value to figure property taxes.

Kerry's place is worth about 8 or 9 mil, I'd estimate.

[Justice]

129. Worth More Than $12 Million At Least

Louisberg Square is THE most expensive street in Boston.

Kerry's people estimated it was worth at least $10M in December, when he borrowed against it.

It is a corner townhouse, with parking underneath.

One townhouse on that street sold for $12M a year or two ago. Kerry's was completely redone inside. I am confident it would go for more than $12M.

[goodhue]

39. an inner city neighborhood

[goodhue]

43. Cleveland inner city

One can find 3 bedroom homes for under 50K.

[MercutioATC]

82. I bought an inner-city Cleveland row house for $10,500.

Investment property in a really bad neighborhood (W87th and Franklin, right next to the CMHA project). 3br, 1ba, about 1200 sq ft. Took me $4500 to rehab and it appraised at $35k.

There are some CHEAP properties in Cleveland if you're willing to take your time.

[GreenArrow]

21. very illuminating

I liked Sharpton's best, if I were going to live in one of them, but I think DK's makes the most pointed statement.

Edwards seems to have the most ostentatious house, while Dean's seemed rather solidly middle class and unpretentious.

Interesting that both the candidates with war experience live in rather large brick homes. Clark's is somewhat unassuming and bland, but Kerry's is like a fortress; John Kerry's Tower of Power.

I can't believe Dubya invites guests to that ranch down in Texas; that house is completely characterless, and it looks cheap. I've seem a few pictures of the interior, and it is equally generic and conventional in there as well.

Now the Boston Globe should take us inside the candidate's houses; we'll learn all sorts of things about them from that.

[LiberalBushFan]

22. Bush ranch BS

That's not his home, that's a political tool built up after his selection. I'd like to see where he lived before he got selected.

[underpants]

30. Damn Sharpton's place is SWEEEEEEEEEEET!

[LizW]

31. Very fun!

Thanks for posting this, I loved it.

I'm really surprised at the modest nature of the candidates' homes. (Kerry and Bush excepted, of course.)

Sharpton's house is lovely, and Dean's Clark's and Edward's all look homey and inviting. DK's is just perfect, although I agree with the person who said that value was very low for that house.

Who said Kerry's "Tower of Power"? LOL!!! Too funny. I'm sure it's very nice inside, but the outside is yucky! I thought the twin "Do Not Enter" signs were a nice touch.

It's kind of nice to know none of our guys are too much into painting and fussy yard work, too.

;)

[corporatewhore]

75. did you catch the description of kerry's tower of power

"The size and location of this plain brick building indicates wealth and power, but it has no particular personality"

[SahaleArm]

33. Sharpton's got the best house - Old Victorian.

I'm biased - the house I live in was built in 1906 :)

[progressivebydesign]

42. I want to decorate Sharptons house for Christmas..

.. just once. It's so sweet! It's expensive, though.

[NashVegas]

54. I Love Those

There are Victorians and Queen Annes all over upstate NY, in the long-settled areas.

[elsiesummers]

57. Yes - Sharptons's my Fave - Front yard garages are an eyesore.

[KoKo]

115. Sharpton's House is Great! The most interesting of the lot....except WH!

And yet the site calls it "undistinguished?" I'd move into it in a minute.

[AndyP]

34. I like clark's

Nice and sturdy. I don't see how anyone would pay so much for Kerry's place.

[HoosierClarkie]

47. It's nice to see the General is not living in a trailer anymore.

:)He deserves a nice house for his Grandson to visit for the Holidays.

[AP]

35. Where'd they get the money to buy homes?

Edwards & Kucinich: earned income.

Kerry: Wife.

Clark: Stock options.

Dean: Wife's family and his own family so he wouldn't have to have a mortgage.

[dsc]

37. actually you have no clue what money Clark spent on his house

I hope our generals are well enough paid to make the mortgage on a house worth what that house is. And that would be earned money.

[MercutioATC]

63. I don't know if they're THAT well paid. I made the same as a Colonel

when we were on the General Schedule (GS-14). About 5 years ago, that was $80k-$85k. Figure a General at $130-$150k per year. With investments and rolling over equity from past houses it's definitely doable, but I don't think he did it on his "salary" alone. It took time to build that kind of equity.

[Tinoire]

72. Mercutio. Could you help me out with this trailer story?

I was in the military 20 years and never once saw an officer's familiy living in a trailer and God knows I was everywhere. I saw a few mobile homes in places like Arizona while people were waiting to have homes built- but trailers? Have you ever heard anything like this and do you have any details?

Thanks

[LandOLincoln]

79. Wes Jr., among other sources:

"It's been a really disillusioning experience," Clark said, his tone bitter during an impromptu conversation with reporters. "We sacrificed a hell of a lot for this country over 34 years. We lived in a damn trailer when I was a freshman in high school."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9620-2004Feb3.html

[Tinoire]

93. I read the statement when he made it but it makes no sense to me

The Army doesn't put any family, much less Officers' families, in a trailer. It simply does not compute for me unless Clark insisted on taking his family on an unaccompanied/hardship tour where there was no housing available for families.

As much as I gripe about the military, I assure you that in 20 years I never ever saw anyone living in a trailer. Married Privates from tactical units often live in slum tenaments but I have never heard of officers in trailers. If there's one thing the Army cares about and has always cared about, it's the comfort of families.

Was this maybe a mobile home like many have in Arizona that Jr is talking about?

I haven't probed into this but it seems this would have been around 1983 but Clark was in Washington DC at that time at the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army. From February 1980-June 1982, he was at Fort Carson, Colorado and I guarantee you the officers there did not live in trailers.

I am looking for some military insight into this.

Thanks for the quote.

[LandOLincoln]

96. Maybe the problem is semantic. Here in the West, anyway,

mobile homes="trailers."

[Tinoire]

102. Thank you.

I appreciate that explanation.

[juajen]

125. My goodness

Maybe he meant manufactured home. There is a huge difference between a trailer and a manufactured home. I'm guessing there might be a lot of those on military bases.

[MercutioATC]

81. Sorry, Tinoire, I was civilian gov't (air traffic controller)...still am,

actually. Until a few years ago, we shared the GS pay scale with a lot of other government employees (military included). As far as Colonels go, they's have to have a gambling problem, a wicked coke habit, or 3 ex-wives to be forced into a trailer...

[Tinoire]

103. NP. I think LandoLincoln's explanation must be accurate

because in no way, would anyone believe that Army officers, especially those of some rank, live in trailers.

[MercutioATC]

128. Agreed, but why would he call it a "damn trailer" if it was a mobile home?

I've seen some pretty nice mobile homes. Calling your house a "damn trailer" implies something different...

I seriously don't know. Maybe the base they were at had a shortage of housing...maybe he DID mean a mobile home...

[LandOLincoln]

130. Once again, here in the West at least,

Mobile home = trailer

"Manufactured" home = mobile home = trailer

You may be confusing "manufactured" homes with "modular" homes. I know I did for quite awhile.

A mobile home is, well, a home that's mobile, in other words a trailer. There are some very large and very nice mobile homes (doublewides, for instance) but they're still trailers.

A modular home is one that's put together onsite from parts that have been assembled elsewhere. Once put together, it's indistinguishable from a site-built home. It is NOT mobile, therefore not a trailer.

Hope that clears up the confusion.

[SahaleArm]

40. Stock Options are earned income - read the tax code lately?

Stock grants are treated as earned income. Fleecing Doctors and insurance companies is also earned income, or is that helping the little people?

[AP]

51. All stock options get some kind of preferential tax treatment.

That's why they exist. Janitors don't have these choices. And there's a total insider element to this.

[Julien Sorel]

65. No, they don't.

The other poster is correct: exercized stock options are taxed at your income rate. The 'preferential treatment' your broken record keeps skipping on refers to the way corporations used to expense stock options, not the way people who exercize them are treated.

The primary is pretty much decided. Continuing this foolish, ignorant whine about stock options does nothing but piss off a lot of people who are every bit as disappointed as you are that their candidate isn't going to win. Old enough to type on this message board, old enough to leave the diaper-wearing mentality behind.

[AP]

85. Why are we suddenly acting like we're totally ignorant about how the world

works?

Corporations pass on wealth to board of director members through stock options.

You can get and asset on which you pay taxes at the value on the day your right to own it vests. You can hold that asset and get added value taxed at a lower rate. You can do "work" for a corporations, and end up with X amount of money at the end of the relationship, of which a fraction is taxed at 38% and, in many cases, a much larger fraction is taxed at 20%.

[Julien Sorel]

105. Gee, this is getting embarrassing.

When you exercize stock options, you pay taxes on the difference of the exercize price and the market value -- right then. So if, for example, you exercize stock options with a strike price of $15 when the stock is trading at $25, you pay taxes at your income tax rate on the difference, $10, whether you choose to hold the stock or sell it. If you then choose to hold the stock, you are in exactly the same boat as if you'd gone into the market and bought it at $25 -- and there is market risk involved in holding a stock. So there is absolutely no tax advantage associated with receiving stock options in lieu of a salary.

[AP]

111. I've said from the beginning that you pay taxes on the value the day your

rights vest. Any appreciation after that is cap gains. If you wait a year, you pay 20% on the appreciation.

In other words, you can be connected to a business for a year, sitting on the board, knowing everything about the company, you get stock options, they vest, you know enough not to exercise them, and then you score big a year later.

At the end, you paid 38% on a small part of what you left with, and 20% on the rest.

Again, why do we pretend this isn't how the world works when we talk about Clark. However, when Bush I did this, we knew the score, and when Enron cashed out top execs this way, we knew what was what?

[Julien Sorel]

126. You started off talking about tax advantages of stock options,

which I have demonstrated do not exist, and now you are simply spewing out lines of text. First, long term capital gains kick in after you hold the stock, not the options, for a year. You have to exercize the options, then hold the stock for a year. In that year there is this little thing called market risk.


By the way, the top long term capital gains rate is now 15%, not the 20% you quoted. But it was already painfully obvious that this is not a strong subject for you. Try making something else up -- this one is simple stupidity.

[AP]

133. Lord. Clearly I've been talking about the entire transaction. Not just

the option itself, but the tax advantage of the entire event, of getting paid by a corporation for your insider contirbution in the form of an asset that you recieve, hold on to, sell at the right moment (a moment that you can identify by fact of your participation), and pay taxes as low as 15% on.

Oops, yes 15% -- don't know why I started saying 20%, but the first time I talked about this I was complaining that Clark didn't tell that audience that his "more progressive" tax plan would have charged him 10% less on the LTCG from his sale of stock which he's getting from serving on corporate boards. (More progressive, my ass.)

Clark, by the way, must have known from being on the board of that corp that they were going to sell themselves to another corp.

Do you think he was going to make the mistake of selling that stock BEFORE it was sold?

Do you think the executives at the corp were going to make the mistake of selling the company within a year of lots of insiders buying shares, or do you think it was timed so that a lot of those board members with shares would have had their shares for more than a year?

[LandOLincoln]

77. Oh for god's sake,

then find a janitor who's qualified to be president and run him.

[AP]

86. There are better candidates running this year.

And those candidates don't have identities wrapped up in this logical inconsistency.

And this isn't a problem that existed before yesterday with Clark. I was always willing to look the other way when it came to him earning money by getting tangled up in the corporate bullshit. (However, I don't see Clinton trading on his government connections, sitting on corporate boards, trading on access.)

The problem was when he told that room full of people that his tax code is better than Edwards's.

The fact is, Edwards's tax code would probably make Clark pay more money on the kinds of things from which he's expecting to get income over the next decade or so.

[LandOLincoln]

95. Clark is expecting

to make $390,000* a year for the next eight years.

*American president's salary as of 1/1/01/

[mrgorth]

59. Dean's

Dean: Wife's family and his own family so he wouldn't have to have a mortgage.

Where did you get this info?

[Justice]

71. Remarkably Petty

[tishaLA]

87. Yeah. Those 34 years in the military

are called "stock options" now.

I wonder whether Clark will sell his house--unwittingly, of course--to a powerful Saudi.

[WillyBrandt]

114. What's your problem?

One could just as easily said Clark was serving his country while Edwards was an ambulance chaser.

One would be wrong, of course, to spout such noxious baloney, but your message does precisely that.

Ugh. Shit slinging is fun, but it's no way to go through life.

[progressivebydesign]

41. I LOVED that!

I really enjoyed seeing the homes. Very cool homes. I love Sharpton's house, lovely architecture. The description of Kucinichs' was perfect.. nicely done. I liked Dean's house because it had a basketball hoop, made it seem very family oriented. Clark's house looked just as I would have guessed. Very formal. Kerry's "house", yikes! SIX fireplaces? Whoa! The loan he took out, it looks like was for the full value of the home? He must have owned it outright. Smart. I'd hate to try and buy real estate in his neighborhood!

[LuminousX]

45. Based on the homes

There are only three candidates I think I would like, if I had to judge solely on the homes they live in: Dean, Kucinich, and sadly Bush's ranch house.

Luckily this isn't the only indicator I have to go on.

Meanwhile, Sharpton has the best house overall with Edwards' home coming in a close second.

[NashVegas]

56. Two Here

I grew up in homes like Sharpton's (albeit a much smaller version) and Dean's when they weren't so expensive.

Edwards: too big/country club-ish for me.
Kucinich: good architects can and do make attractive homes for low income people. That's not one of them. (It's the windows/proportion.)
Kerry: I could live in one of those if it were no more than 2-3 floors (would hate to have to clean it, though).
Clark: nice, if bland
Dean: same.
Sharpton: a character of a house for a character of a politician.

[no name no slogan]

67. I doubt DK's home was designed by an architect

It's probably just another tract house that was tossed up on a vacant lot in the 60s during an "urban renewal" project.

I see houses like that all around the inner city where I live, and I'm fairly certain they were not designed for much else besides providing basic shelter for working families.

[Tinoire]

73. Dean's house is a normal, unpretentious Physician's home on the E. Coast

The candidate's homes speak volumes to me.

Kucinich & Dean win this one hands down. Real homes, for real people that the average American can relate to and vice versa.

[AP]

97. Doesn't Dean also have a vacation home -- a couple acres?

[NashVegas]

104. I Know They Own Land

Not sure if there's a habitat on it.

[AP]

112. I believe there is a house on it. In his FEC reports he calls it a "lodge"

or "compound" or something like that.

[NashVegas]

117. I'd Wanna See Pics

Up that way, "lodge" can mean anything from four walls, a sink and a wood-burning stove, to something more suitable for the Whitneys.

[ChiefJoseph]

46. Great link.

[Indiana_Dem]

48. I like Clark's then Sharpton's the best!

Dream homes!!

Heck the celebrities homes I see on Cribs are better than these! Geez!

[ChiefJoseph]

55. My thoughts

- Kerry's place didn't seem as opulent as I thought it would.
- Kucinich's house looked about like I thought it would.
- Where did Sharpton get the money for that swank house, and what do the poor urban people he claims to represent think about him living like a king in the suburbs...hypocrite.

[elsiesummers]

60. Flatbush is not suburbs. He's probably only blocks from a subway stop.

The population density of Brooklyn is higher than that of Manhattan - so his lot and home size are extremely spacious. More often than not, in Brooklyn, homes that size are broken up into multiple apartments, at the very least, duplexes.

I'm guessing the house is towards the eastern side of Prospect Park - but only a guess - should take a look at my map.

A lot of Brooklyn is very block to block - good block, bad block, good block - all side by side. Because of the lack of space anywhere in NYC - that house has to be quite valuable. But, I really doubt Sharpton is particularly insulated from ordinary people.

[eissa]

58. Loved Al's place

His and Dean's look really homey. But I was shocked with Dennis.' Not so much the style, but the price! Even at $50K it's a steal. You couldn't get a crack house where I live in CA for that.

[no name no slogan]

70. Ain't that the truth about the prices?

I hear Cleveland has some of the lowest real estate prices for major cities in the entire nation, though.

I know that even in Minneapolis (where I live) a home like DK's would go for at least $125k MINIMUM if the neighborhood is any good. My 1100 sq. ft. 1.5 story home, in a good neighborhood, on a small city lot was appraised at $225k last year, which I think is ridiculously overpriced.

[MercutioATC]

83. Cleveland's housing prices are VERY reasonable.

Our cost of living in general (the cost of groceries, gas, utilities, etc) isn't that much different than other places, but we have a great supply of reasonably-priced housing stock.

[no name no slogan]

116. That's great

plus, you've got the R-n-R Hall of Fame, a fairly decent local music scene (or so I've heard), and a decent climate to boot.

Are there any jobs there for web developers with 5+ years experience?
:D

[MercutioATC]

127. Hey! For somebody that's willing to move to Cleveland? I'll look.

We're still burdened by our past reputation (which was deserved at the time). I have to warn you, though, unless you're from one of the northern states, our "climate" sucks (we're going on 4 weeks below freezing here).

If you pick the right place to live, Cleveland is actually a great place. If you're serious, I'll see what I can dig up.

[no name no slogan]

131. I'm born and bred in Minnesota

which is farther north than many parts of Ontario, so winters are not a problem (he said, as he looked at the 3 foot snowdrifts in his front yard :D).

I may have to take you up on that offer in a few months-- I'm waiting to see how my wife's job works out. Her company recently got a new owner, and there's a shake-up going on. I hope she gets to keep her job, but I'm completely open to moving if necessary.
:D

[David Zephyr]

64. Fun.

:thumbsup:

[Gin]

68. good find...thanks...fun to look at

gin

[corporatewhore]

76. loved DKs Blue House!!

[tishaLA]

84. Kerry has a 10,000 sq. ft home?!

And in Boston?! Sheesh, I know houses here in L.A. are big, but usually back east, with space at a premium, places are much smaller and EXPENSIVE. That's bigger than even some of the most opulant places out here.

[Monument]

89. That's why it would sell for $20 Mil.

[DrFunkenstein]

90. He's A Tall Man

He needs alot of leg room.

[LTR]

91. Interesting

Wes Clark's house. I like this one. Beautiful brick structure ith very nice pillars. I'll bet the yard is incredible.



Howard Dean's place. Uphill basketball, anyone? Very middle class, suburban.



Edwards. They built homes like that in '82? Very nice. Wonder what the tennis court looks like.



Kerry's residence. Sorry, I wouldn't pay $6 mil or $20 mil for a place in the city with no yard. Maybe I'm just too midwestern.



Kucinich's blue box. $26K??? For that price, needs bars in the windows.



Al's got very nice taste. Not sure how he pays for an $800K house. My favorite of the whole bunch.



Shrub's digs. Needs landscaping. But I suppose the entire town of Crawford was created solely to give Shrub some down-home cred, hence the lack of anything on the property. Built in 2001, so that lends credence to said rumor.

[NashVegas]

106. Uphill Basketball

I was thinking similar. Man, I'd hate to have to chase that thing.

[no name no slogan]

120. Shrub's ranch is cool for one reason: it's very eco-friendly

Much of the heating in the house is done through solar/hot water, and its waste disposal system is supposedly quite green-friendly too.

It's kind of ironic that, of all the candidates, he's got the most ecological house, but his environmental views would make Nixon spin in his grave, much less John Muir.

[porkrind]

121. Shrub's house ...

Shrubs house looks like a mormon church.

I like Sharpton's. Great taste.

Seeing Kucinich's house makes me like him even more. I love unpretentious idealistic people. Go Kucinich !!!

Kerry spacious mansion just brings home to me how far away he is from me and most of middle class America. His wife is a rich Heinz heiress? $20 million house? Yeah. He feels my pain.

I liked Dean's house. Upper class, but real. Liked the basketball hoop.

[West Coast Democrat]

92. Wow! I could easily afford a large house in Cleveland!

$26,000?!!!

[Hav]

100. haha

Whatever you get to know about Kucinich,you just have to love him.
That house is soo Kucinich.It speaks for itself,American, modest, honest.

[sistersofmercy]

101. My favorite is Sharpton's , Kerry's is second

I love historical buildings.

[stickdog]

107. Kucinich wins, Dean second, Kerry last.

Sort of like if you ranked the candidates in integrity and earnestness.

[TheDonkey]

110. Great link! thnx! Sharpton's house 1st, Kerry 2nd, Edwards 3rd

Sharptons house is..... WOW.

I didn't like Kerry's house at first. A little too bland and sterile but the size is HUGE I'd love to scope out the inside like they said.

Edwards has a lawyers house, it's pretty sweet.

Kucinich's house.... wow again but for different reasons. It's a little shocking to think a US Congressmen would live in such a small unusual house (bright blue anyone). But it sure does fit him, very unique.

Dean's house is tacky. You'd think with so much money he'd get a nicer pad than mine? But my house is nicer, hmm so strange. He really could fix it up and move that basketball hoop to the back please.


Bush's is an embarassment.... ugh I get ill thinking about it.

[John_H]

118. Dean should get Trippi to shovel his driveway.

to work off a little of that 4 mil.

[Cronus Protagonist]

119. I wish I was as rich as anyone of them

They're all richer than I, including Dennis.

"ANYBODY BUT BUSH" Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[Uzybone]

132. Sharptons place

was the best looking to me. Deans place is plain, does he think he is gonna take all that money to the grave? DK...damn what can I say.