Which candidate gives it up more? You might be surprised.
According to a New York Times report in March, the Obamas gave $240,000 to charity in 2007. This compares with charitable donations as low as $1,050 just a few years ago. The Obama’s charitable contributions rose dramatically after Obama began his run for president. In the past two years, Senator and Mrs. McCain have contributed $340,323 to charitable causes.
Senator McCain also donates his royalties from his books to various charitable organizations. This sum has totaled over $1,800,000 since 1998 when he signed his first book deal. Senator McCain’s book income of $256,898 for 2006 and 2007 is comprised of earnings for Faith of My Fathers, Worth the Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, Character is Destiny, and Hard Call.
According to the McCain campaign, beginning in 1991, Senator McCain has also donated the increase in his Senate salary for that year and each subsequent year to charity because he opposed the Congressional pay increase at that time and pledged not to accept the pay raises. The cumulative total of these donations is over $450,000.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, and her husband Todd reported meager earnings from 2006 and 2007, at least by presidential-politics standards, but the Palin family gave more to charity in the last two years than her counterpart Sen. Joe Biden has in the last eight combined.
In 2006, the Palins paid $11,944 in taxes on $127,869 in income. In 2007, they paid $24,738 on $166,080. But in 2006, they donated $4,880 to charity, and in 2007, they donated $3,325. By contrast, Biden, Barack Obama’s running mate, has donated a scant $3,690 since 1998 despite his higher Senate salary, according to an analysis posted by National Review. I guess all of those hair plugs and Botox injections are expensive.
So when the Obama/Biden duo profess to be looking out for those less fortunate, we can assume that does not necessarily mean they are looking in their own wallets first. But it appears they have no problem looking into taxpayers’ wallets as they embark on their alarming crusade to redistribute the wealth in America.
Seed Newsvine
This article, while interesting, sort of lacks some details that would truly clarify the story. You report on charitable donations, but do not detail which Charity. It seems that when looking at charitable donations, it would make more sense if it was represented as a percentage of Income instead of the GROSS amount. When reporting on McCain’s donations, it is very unclear because he and Cindy file taxes separately, so it is difficult to compare the donations of the Obama’s to the McCain’s. Does McCain donate all the proceeds of this book royalties, or a percentage of his royalties…and again, which charitable foundation(s) receive this money.
Irrelevant remarks about Bidden lower the quality of the article. Attention to detail is important when assessing the validity of any claim…thanks
Dear afisher:
Did you read the entire “Elitism for Dummies” book or just the parts you thought would help you sound more intellectual? You have posted comments all over this blog attempting to subtly besmirch McCain and artfully advance Obama’s socialist-based agenda. But from the comments it is clear you are neither an artist politically, nor an intellectual heavyweight.
You seem to constantly be searching for something more… Something to nitpic. I getcha… The best defense is a good offense. But the keyword there is good. Your efforts are amateurish at best.
You may need to take the Democratic Party refresher course on Partisan Political Pinhead 1.0.1.