Joe The Plumber Represents U.S.'s Silent Majority

In case the main stream media has not noticed, their newest creation, "Joe the plumber", will NOT be going back to his place in the silent majority crowd anytime soon. In a short seven days, this single dad from Ohio has been pulverized and humiliated by the media, by Senator Obama's campaign surrogates, and many blog sites. His only crime: being in the wrong place (his front yard) at the wrong time (when presidential hopeful Obama stopped by)... and asking the wrong person (a relatively still unknown, Obama) the wrong question (how will Obama's tax plan "to spread the wealth around for everybody" affect him).

Instead of Obama's impromptu answer getting scrutiny... old "Joe the plumber" has been the recipient of some very viscious scrutiny. Hope Joe knows that his life, as an unassuming, "every-day-member" of the silent majority is over! And... depending on if his story continues to gain momentum, which could possibly sway the outcome of this 2008 Presidential election, " Joe the plumber" may well go down in the history books as "Joe the racist" who foiled an African American man's attempt to be President of the United States.

With two weeks out from voting day, the new variable in this race is: How many voters actually see themselves as regular Joes? Truth be told, Joe the plumber represents millions of Americans who are behind on their taxes, or who are jack-legging or boot-legging, without formal license, in their specific trade... but are decent people who are committed to working every day, trying to make a living just to stay afloat.

Take note. This uprising by the silent majority 'Joes' is becoming more evident each day, as many have decided to come out of the shadows and be heard. Look at the closing poll numbers, even though Obama is out spending McCain 5 to 1. And as recently noted, the number of angry Joes and Josephines who are attending McCain/Palin rallies in support of Joe the plumber, and obviously against the media, vis-à-vis Obama:

"Joe the Plumber resonates with the crowds is what his experience says about the media. Everybody here seems acutely aware of the once-over Wurzelbacher received from the press after his chance encounter with Obama was reported, first on Fox News, and then mentioned by McCain at last week’s presidential debate. Wurzelbacher found himself splashed across newspapers and cable shows, many of which reported that he didn’t have a plumber’s license, that he wasn’t a member of the plumbers’ union, that he had a lien against him for $1,182 in state taxes, and that he failed to comprehend what many commentators apparently felt was the indisputable fact that Barack Obama would lower his taxes, not raise them. As the people here in Woodbridge saw it, Joe was a guy who asked Barack Obama an inconvenient question — and for his troubles suddenly found himself under investigation by the media.

In the audience Saturday, there were plenty of people who were mad about it. There was real anger at this rally, but it wasn’t, as some erroneous press reports from other McCain rallies have suggested, aimed at Obama. It was aimed at the press." Byron York, National Review Online 10/19/08

Now will some of these undecideds jump on the old Joe the plumber bandwagon as their excuse NOT to vote for Obama? Probably so. But Obama has no one but himself to blame, as he was the one who went to Joe's house and stuck his foot in his mouth, advocating a "spreading the wealth around" philosophy to an electorate who really doesn't know who he is and what he stands for.

Say It Ain't So, Joe Plumber Won 3rd Debate

Well.. say it ain't so. The winner of the third Presidential debate of 2008 was Joe Wurzelbacher, or "Joe the Plumber." This young Ohioan named Joe, whose recent exchange with Senator Obama regarding his tax options under an Obama administration, was thrust front and center and into the national spotlight. Obama's answer to old Joe's question about his taxes being increased caused quite a stir:

Obama said, "My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."

Seems as if old Joe's interaction with Obama has made him the 'face' of middle America. His plight actually focuses a huge laser beam on what ails this country, and who can be trusted to fix it.

How each candidate dealt with the subject of old Joe and the person of old Joe during this third and final debate, was quite telling and gave a vivid indication how each will govern if elected to serve the people.

First off, it was John McCain who initially made mention of old Joe... as a matter of fact, calling him out by his full name: Joe Wurzelbacher. McCain, in much detail, painted the picture for the listening audience of how Senator Obama's tax plan would hurt American dreams... such as Joes. And, in typical McCain style, he offered a direct and frontal approach, even going as far as to address old Joe square-faced to the television camera, assuring old Joe more money in his own pocket come January 2009, so he and his family could have increased opportunity to actualize the American dream.

Obama, on the other hand, addressed old Joe in a more colloquial manner... calling him "Joe the plumber"... and talking in more nuanced terms––coming off almost tepid in his response. Senator Obama lumped the dreams of old Joe with those of a hypothetical nurse, firefighter, teacher and others... into one big dream-pot. Obama then went on to speak, quite eloquently, of how his vision is for old Joe, and all the rest of those he mentioned, to be equal and be on equal footing as a result of his proposed spread the wealth around for everybody tax plan.

Two men... two very stark differences in approaches and positions. Who wins the election this year will more than likely boil down to how Americans see themselves in old Joe. Will voters continue to hold fast to the capitalist ideology: 'all my pie for me and mine'... or are Americans willing to move toward the Obama 'hope', 'change' paradigm: "I'll share my hard earned pie with others so that no one starves or goes without."

Facing the tough economic challenges that are sure on the horizon in this nation... are we ready to sacrifice-for-the-good-of-all, as that is what this election is all about in a nutshell. Everybody... think hard and long, then VOTE!