The Plumber vs. The General

I watched Senator John McCain on television speaking Sunday afternoon to an auditorium filled with supporters in Toledo, Ohio. At first I thought to myself what a nice moment. The fact is it seems there have been too few really nice moments at McCain and Palin rallies lately because they seem so desperate.

But before long Senator McCain launched into an attack on his opponent, Senator Barack Obama, with great energy but little veracity. "Joe the plumber is the only person to get Obama to answer a question," he flailed, "and he didn't ask him to come to his door." His door? "He didn't ask Obama to come to his house," he went on, "and he didn't ask for those political attacks from the Obama campaign." There were attacks by the Obama campaign against Joe? "No American should be attacked for asking a question of a presidential candidate," he steamed, "attacks on him are attacks on small businesses across the country."

I rushed to YouTube to screen the more than five minute meeting between Senator Obama and Joe the plumber. It was a very cordial encounter and Obama seemed genuinely engaged in the conversation. It took place on a neighborhood street, not at Joe's house. And what of Joe? He has a lien on his house for not paying his taxes. I guess Joe just doesn't like taxes at all. And it is well known now that Joe is not a licensed plumber, he is not trying buy a plumbing business and he does not make very much income.

Governor Sarah Palin used much the same thrust during her campaign stops Sunday. Praising Joe the plumber for asking Obama tough questions, Palin said Obama sounded like a socialist. Then she charged that Joe is being investigated for asking a question. Don't these candidates understand that they undermine their own campaign with these shoddy attempts to fire up their own base? Why can't they just speak about their positions on the critical issues with straight talk? Hyperbole is fine, but using this Joe the plumber seems very misguided.

General Colin Powell, a true American hero, announced earlier in the day he would vote for Senator Obama. His thoughtful and articulate explanation on NBC's Meet The Press was filled with praise for both candidates. And Powell described McCain as a long time friend. However, an important factor in his support for Obama was all the negative campaigning he has witnessed from the McCain campaign. He also expressed his doubts about Palin's readiness for the presidency. On the other hand, he spoke of Obama in glowing terms. He had seen how the Illinois Senator has recently handled his campaign, citing his intelligence and steadiness through the recent economic crisis. "He is ready," pronounced Powell, "he has the potential to be an exceptional president."

Joe the plumber is the centerpiece of the McCain campaign. General Colin Powell's endorsement will now be an important factor in the Obama campaign. This pretty much sums up the state of this race with two weeks to go before the election.

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Comments

[CalCat]

Joe the Plumber certainly seems to be winning in this comical poll on www.SportsFanLive.com. Check it out.

[ThePhotogsBlog]

Already listing heavily to starboard and dead in the water, the SS McCainatanic takes another torpedo. Will McCain now accuse Colin Powell of being a socialist as well?

[mommadona]

I see from your bio, you were 'part of the problem'
From your bio, I see, you were 'part of the problem, too'

You then know where all of this started...

FOX.

[bennybeaver]

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.
Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize for economic science, was a senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution from 1977 to 2006. He passed away on Nov. 16, 2006. (Link to obituary.) He was also the Paul Snowden Russell Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he taught from 1946 to 1976, and a member of the research staff of the National Bureau of Economic Research from 1937 to 1981.

[BarackMarley]

Here's how the GOP is trying to racialize Powell's endorsement
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/gop-pundits-question-powells-integrity-on-race/

[elp37]

Same thing I said over yonder:

If poor Joe, hadn't had that little devilish desire to get on TV; if he hadn't made up that bongo story and posed a false question to Obama there wouldn't have been a mythical tale for McCain to latch on to.

But Joe lied. He told a whopper. And McCain got wind of it. And he ate it up. And poor John McCain lept before he looked - AGAIN.

John went out of his way to center his final chance - his one last shot - in the 11th hour - on a cardboard, hypothetical, gotcha question - which went terribly wrong.

Seems McCain vetted Joe and his "question" as thoroughly as he vetted his running mate. The risks of being a maverick ~ I guess.

I have no pity for Joe - whether he is aspiring to the American dream or not. If you make up stuff to get on TV - don't whine and be offended if it goes wrong.

McCain has to take responsibility for his actions. It's trigger-happiness. It's those gnarly decisions - like choosing Palin, or choosing the uber-base, or choosing to run a smear campaign, or choosing to put all his nuts in Joe's toilet. I guess that's what turned Powell off.

[bennybeaver]

I still do not understand what the big deal is about Joe the Plummer. It was the answer to the question, not the person who asked it. I would not care if Mickey Mouse asked the question, I am worried about spreading the wealth answer.

[KillTheMessenger]

You are worried about spreading the wealth? So you would prefer us to have one man own everything and the rest of us being in poverty? I mean, consequently, if spreading wealth is a bad thing, concentrating it would be a good thing, right? So why not give it all to one guy and call him "King"? Worked "well" in the past. Maybe we should give it another go. What do you think?

[blaqntelligence]

As Colin Powell so elegantly stated (paraphrased):
What do you think happens to our taxes?
If I'm unemployed and don't pay taxes, I'm not allowed to use the roads taxes paid for?
Or to recieve mail?
Or garbage collection?
What about Medicaid? Foodstamps?
This multi-billion dollar bailout?
Those are ALL examples of "spreading the wealth".
The medical care Mccain has received all his life is ALSO spreading the wealth.

[valkyrie607]

All taxes are a means of spreading the wealth. Those who can work spread it to those who can't via unemployment insurance. Those who are young spread it to those who are old via Medicare. Those who are grown-up spread it to those who are children via schools and programs like S-CHIP.

The fact that John McCain is trying to scare you into thinking that Obama is a socialist, when the TRUTH is that he's a moderate, sometimes right-leaning Democrat, shows that John McCain has nothing. No ideas, no plans, no grand policy proposals, just a burning desire to hold onto power.

[vcsmith]

Looks like you stepped in it. Please share your views on giving one guy all the wealth. Maybe we can give to the Lehman Brothers guy!

[Territc]

If you to to the Obama Website you will get a detailed plan on the economy and spreading the wealth. The website is www.barackobama.com. Go Issue and print out his Blueprint for Change. It gives detailed info on his entire plan on the issues and this is what he has been speaking from from Day one of his campaign.

I am just surprised that there are still people, 14 days before the election, who still say they don't know Obama, when this info has been available for Day One of the Campaign. It hasn't changed, its still the same plan. This just shows that people are ignorant out of choice and not because there is no information out there. How do you make an informed decision when you are clueless?

PS. The McCain campaign also has info on his plan on his website, even if it is not as detailed as Obama's but you get an idea of where he stands on the issues.

[MsDebate]

I wish the McCain/Palin ticket and followers would read your post and get a clue. I want them to tell me what they would do for me, and not what Obama wont.

[bennybeaver]

Joe the Plummer ROCKS

[piper1233]

Say it Aint so Joe