All Hail Joe The Plumber

McCain's Joe the Plumber gambit is brilliant.  There probably isn't anyone in the country better suited to be the "regular Joe" - ha! - face of the McCain campaign than Joe Wurzelbacher.  He's an instant media darling; because bestowing that status on Good Ol' Joe was obviously a major goal for McCain last night, he should be applauded for actually accomplishing a strategy.

Joe will be every effective at getting across the central competencies of the McCain campaign.  For example, it appears that Joe the Plumber isn't registered to vote.  See, that's how regular and real Joe Wurzelbacher is.  He's so quintessentially American that he takes political sides and even is willing to inject himself into the thick of a Presidential election, but register to vote?  No way.  Voting is for chumps.

Joe the Plumber is also a quick study at the central attitudes of the McCain campaign.  He's already compared Obama's "tap dancing" at the debates to Sammy Davis, Jr.  Brilliant! 

I can't wait for all the other wholesome, American reasons why Joe the Plumber doesn't support Obama:

1. Joe is tired of tax-and-spend liberal policies like George Bush's.
2. Joe's heard tell that Barry HOO-SANE Obama might be a secret MOOSLIM.
3. Joe Wharrgarble Whapdoodle Wurzelbacher thinks that "Barack Obama" is a weird name.
4. Joe wants to vote for someone that really "represents him."  You know.  Someone that fits in with who Americans "really are."  Oh, c'mon.  Does he have to spell it out?  Joe doesn't want to vote for an U-P-PI-T-Y N-E-G-  dammit!  Obama's black.  He's black black blackity black!  Sheesh!

Keep them coming, McCain. 

Update:  Sam J. Wurzelbacher is, apparently, registered to vote as a Republican.  In his media interviews this "regular guy" is somehow able to hit all of McCain's talking points about taxes, schools and Social Security.  He doesn't have a plumbing license and owes back taxes.

You know, McCain finally may have found the perfect way to get people to stop obsessing over all the crazy stories that keep coming out of Alaska about Sarah Palin.  Let's see if we get into scandal-a-minute territory with Good Ol' Joe.  At this rate, by tomorrow there will be video of him grilling kittens in his backyard or something.  (H/T Joe Klein's Conscience in comments to this post.)

More Update:  "Average" Joe the Plumber looks like he might own several businesses already.  And according to right-winger Martin Eisenstadt, he is closely related to Robert Wurzelbacher, Charles Keating's son-in-law.  Eisenstadt even has an unsourced story about Steve Schmidt screaming about Wurzelbacher's ties to Keating during the debate.  Apparently Eisenstadt is a hoax.  It doesn't change the essential narrative about Wurzelbacher, but it's frustrating to get taken in by that sort of thing.  It also doesn't excuse acting like a jerk about it, as I had to find the linked post myself and then update this post, since it's just too damned hard to drop an email or something to help correct the record.

Remember when we used to say that Republicans were good at campaigns, just bad at governing?

Comments

[litbrit]

This is an awesomely funny and spot-on post.

When I saw that dude on MSNBC this morning, I said to R, This guy is a paid plant. Duh.

Robert then pointed out--and Sir C and I were discussing it, too--the difference between a business's gross and net income. By the time a business that makes even seven figures has deducted all its legitimate expenses, if it's netting out with more than $250K, it bloody well ought to be paying more taxes--the majority of small businesses do not net that much, but they do represent a serious chunk of the EMPLOYER SECTOR. And therefore, the breaks ought to go to them, to keep things humming and keep employment up.

God, I can't wait to have someone in the White House who respects our intelligence--who doesn't assume we're a bunch of ignorant, illiterate bozos who couldn't possibly know these things.

[Ron E.]

He's an instant media darling; because bestowing that status on Good Ol' Joe was obviously a major goal for McCain last night, he should be applauded for actually accomplishing a strategy.

That would actually be a tactic not a strategy. :p

[Stephen]

Ron E.,

HA! Sometimes, mistakes just allow for even more, and better, humor.

[BaxterJ]

Sure wish someone would sit down with Joe the Plumber and explain a few things.
http://www.entertonement.com/tags/clips/4726?sort_by=date

[Joe Klein's conscience]

Actually, "Joe the Plumber" is a registered Republican and a tax cheat. All the details are over at The Great Orange Satan. The best thing is that "Joe the Plumber" might be related to Charles Keating(No, I'm not kidding!!).

[Samantha]

Who is MARTIN EISENSTADT? I noticed that Martin Eisenstadt, the blogger/pundit/war profiteer, is in the news again as the McCain insider who broke the story connecting "Joe the plumber" to Charles Keating. I recently shot an unauthorized mini documentary on Martin Eisenstadt called "The Last Republican" that I am showing as a webseries on my youtube channel, "youkaysam". http://www.youtube.com/user/youkaysam
At times charming and knowledgeable, Martin is, in fact, a dangerous McCain surrogate who hides behind layers and half truths that I like to believe I succeeded in identifying and exposing.

[Samantha]

Who is Martin Eisenstadt?

http://www.youtube.com/user/youkaysam