Lest you doubt that they’re the MSNBC of newsweeklies — and at this point, you really shouldn’t — compare MSNBC’s notorious graphic about how many houses Palin brings to the ticket during her VP rollout to this quirky little sidebar/DNC research memo accompanying the mag’s coverage this week of Wall Street’s meltdown.

When you have seven homes, that’s a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates’ cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here’s the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one.

One vehicle in the McCain fleet has caused a small flap. United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger, an Obama backer, accused McCain this month of “flip-flopping” on who bought daughter Meghan’s foreign-made Toyota Prius. McCain said last year that he bought it, but then told a Detroit TV station on Sept. 7 that Meghan “bought it, I believe, herself.” (The McCain campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)…

Only the Cadillac is registered in the candidate’s name. Cindy McCain’s name is on 11 vehicles, though not the one she actually drives. That car, a Lexus, is registered to her family’s beer-distributor business and is outfitted with personalized plates that read MS BUD.

Bear in mind, the guy who signs off on these pieces has been known to muse publicly about the huge electoral advantage Democrats derive from the fact that the media is chest-deep in the tank for the left. Speaking of which, your exit question: Did you know that Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell apparently want to “go to war with Russia”? Of course you didn’t.