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October 16, 2008
Say it ain't so, Joe
Politics can make someone a household name overnight. Behold Joe Wurzelbacher, alias Joe the Plumber, who last night was a mild-mannered plumber from northeast Ohio. Tonight, he is a symbol of the differences between Obama and McCain's tax plans, as evidenced by the encounter captured on Youtube. It didn't help when the candidates mentioned him more than twenty times in last night's debate.
Sometimes, however, attention can be unwanted. When a person of my generation somehow ends up in the spotlight, enterprising sorts will immediately turn up that person's facebook or Myspace page.
Unfortunately for Joe the Plumber, the media didn't find his Myspace page, but they did do some digging around. Sucks to be you, Joe:
Thomas Joseph, the business manager of Local 50 of the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics, based in Toledo, said Thursday that Mr. Wurzelbacher had never held a plumber’s license, which is required in Toledo and several surrounding municipalities. He also never completed an apprenticeship and does not belong to the plumber’s union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama. On Thursday, he acknowledged that he does plumbing work even though he does not have a license.
His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes back taxes, too, public records show. The premise of his complaint to Mr. Obama about taxes may also be flawed, according to tax analysts. Contrary to what Mr. Wurzelbacher asserted and Mr. McCain echoed, neither his personal taxes nor those of the business where he works are likely to rise if Mr. Obama’s tax plan were to go into effect, they said.
Curse you New York Times and your fact-finding! The liberal media has done it this time, taking poor Joe the Plumber and dismembering him before a national audience! All because he had a question for Senator Obama. With his new found fame, he probably will be above that $250,000 tax bracket. We hope.
In all seriousness, I think the media's treatment of Joe is a little suspect. All he did was ask a question. I'm sure Joe didn't know he was going to become the center of the debate, and now he might be in deep trouble, all for participating in the democratic process.
If there's a lesson to be learned, I suppose it's that if you don't want to get in trouble, never, ever leave the house. If you must, DON'T, under any circumstances, talk to Barack Obama.
Also, never say anything incriminating on a Myspace page, Facebook page, or blog. Since I have undoubtedly already said many things on this web site that will ruin me politically, here's another one: I have never worn, nor will I ever wear, a flag pin. Sorry I blurted that one out, future self!
Update: Daily Kos (so not exactly the most non-partisan site) suggests Joe the Plumber was actually a plant, designed to trip up Obama:
It also seems odd that he just happens to be buying a business that would earn exactly the amount of money that would qualify it to be a McCain campaign talking point -- $250,000. Even more intriguing, McCain-land said they had never spoken with Joe before, but also made the following statement to Ben Smith:
McCain aides say there was no heads-up for Joe the Plumber, who's headed out to the morning shows tomorrow.
"Joe didn't know" that he'd be at the center of the debate," said Matt McDonald.
"We tried to call him during the debate, but his phone was busy," he said. "We're not going to put him through media training."
So the McCain campaign says they never contacted Joe the Plumber...but they also had his phone number. Now it's very possible someone in the media gave them his phone number, but if you can find any listing for Joe Wurzelbacher in Holland, Ohio, you're more industrious than I am.
Most interesting, indeed!
entry no. 1228
Posted at October 16, 2008 11:40 PM
Comments
Plenty of people have asked Obama questions on the campaign trail. But Joe had the misfortune of being identified by the McCain campaign as a convenient pawn to be exploited. So let's not blame just the media for all of this. It's like those courtroom dramas on TV - a defense attorney objects to a question that the prosector brings up in cross-examination, and the judge overrules the objection, saying that the defense attorney introduced the line of questioning himself, so he only has himself to blame.
McCain introduced the topic of Joe, and it's only write for the media to ask some of the difficult questions to further examine the truth about who exactly Joe is. And not surprisingly, his situation is a lot more complex than the debate soundbite that McCain preferred. If Joe wants to blame someone for all the exposure, he should blame McCain.
Posted by: Pete at October 17, 2008 08:34 AM