Lessons from Joe the Plumber (Jeff Alworth, Blue Oregon)

[swag]

http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/10/lessons-from-jo.html

Last night's debate offered many metaphors for McCain's badly-conceived campaign, but you could do worse than choosing Joe. Predictably, the McCain camp didn't vet him. By the time he appeared on Good Morning America today (as I predicted by 6:10 pm during yesterday's debate--points in Punditology for that, Kari?), reporters had already dug into his background. Guess what? He's not the model spokesperson the campaign might have wished:

- He's not actually a licenced plumber or contractor--required by Toledo law.
- He has two outstanding liens.
- He's not an independent--he's a registered Republican.
- He thinks Social Security's "a joke."
- He thinks the idea that those earning $250,000 should pay 3% more in taxes is "a socialist view."
- Oh, and after failing to understand Obama's clear, detailed response to his answer, he described Obama as having danced around like Sammy Davis, Jr. (I guess that is in line with the campaign's direction.) Running with Joe the Plumber's story without vetting him properly? The McCain campaign would never do that.

But the biggest inadvertent lesson is in Joe's voter registration status. When reporters first searched his name, they couldn't find it and early stories reported that he wasn't registered. But in fact, the state had just bungled his name:

“We have his named spelled W-O, instead of W-U,” Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said in a telephone interview. “Handwriting is sometimes hard to read. He has never corrected it in his registration card.”

So Joe is a legally registered Republican in the state of Ohio, but there's a mistake in the spelling of his name. The Republican Party has spent eight years trying to use mistakes like this to scrub people from the voter roles, and they're currently engaged in a massive effort to de-register hundreds of thousands of (mostly new) voters in swing states. Guess who those voters disproportionately favor?

[FlyingSquirrel]

1. I think they better purge Joe from the voter rolls. Only fair, right?

:eyes:

[Matariki]

2. I think THE most important part of "Joe the Plumber's" story is that he makes 40k

and that he therefore WOULD benefit from Obama's tax plan. And he's delusional.