Joe the Plumber
After swatting at Gotchas since his convention, John McCain had a Gotcha of his own in his back pocket and he slid his palms together in anticipation of opening the door to the cage.
On Wednesday night during the last 2008 presidential debate, Candidate McCain would release Joe the Plumber. In our youTube world order which records 99 percent of everyone's life, a tape existed that revealed a recorded conversation with Joe and Barack Obama. Joe questioned Obama about buying the business that currently employed him and wondered if he netted over 250,000 dollars in the new venture, would the Obama tax plan work against him. Turns out it might. The rate could be 36 percent instead of 39. But, more importantly, something may have been said about "spreading the wealth around."
In the GOP Holy of Holies (formerly located on Wall Street but now moved to a bunker near Omaha) a sacred text proclaims that if there is anything that should not be "spread around," it is wealth. There are many things to do with wealth, but spreading it around is not one. You can invest, lend, borrow, or donate wealth. You can also mismanage, steal, or just plain lose it, but all of these are preferable to "spreading it around." This awful phrase brings to life visions of the arch villain Robin Hood and his possibly gender confused group of anarchists. So, McCain was armed to the teeth. He had the nuke option that would clear as crystal define Obama as an unrepentant wealth re-arranger. Obama wanted to take 16 hour a day working guy Joe's wealth away from him and "spread it around."
<p>Even if you are no fan of the GOP or McCain, you had to feel a little good for the guy. For a brief time, he wore a smile that did not look like it would crack his face or break his teeth. It was a regular guy smile. He was happy. Joe the Plumber had made John McCain happy.
But, you know what's next. The sun rose, and the youTube world order woke to a new day that would include checking out Joe the Plumber. Seems Joe is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. He is not a plumber if that means the type that have a license. The Obama tax plan would probably benefit him. Also taxes seem troublesome for Sam as there is a lien on his house for some he has not paid.
What doe all this have to teach us? Quite a bit. But not just the fish in the barrel partisan stuff. First it makes it clear to me that fame and fortune are not all on the positive side. And, if there is a choice, take fortune. I don't know how these fifteen minutes of fame things play out. Can Joe parlay this into an 800 number and a ticket to easy street, or will the talk show phone calls dry up faster than a mirage in the desert. We've all heard the stories of lottery winners who end up broke and miserable. Will his fifteen minutes be a springboard for a new life for Joe or just make him look like an idiot? I am not going to be too tough on Joe because it reminds me that I once had a lien on my house, and I did not even know until I was about to sell. I did not owe anyone money either. The lien was associated with the state. I had a tax number that identified me when I sent sales tax to the department of revenue. There were some months when I had no revenue so I sent no report. That was wrong. The state wanted a report with or without revenue. Does not matter to anyone now, but might if I was a "fifteen famer." And, how many of us have daydreamed about having our own business? Was this not what Joe was doing? Will we all have to turn into Greta Garbo?
How does this make John McCain and the GOP look? Not too good. Must have them wondering if the stars and karma are just not working as they should right now. Talking heads say Joe the Plumber should have been vetted first. Maybe so, but politics is for the bold. McCain is not afraid to roll the dice. If he had waited, then the opportunity would have been gone. Look at the bailout (rescue) plan. Leaders should have seen it coming, acted fast, stopped it, cut it off at the pass, fired this one, hired that one. But no, leaders should not have acted so quickly, without hearings, before they knew if this rescue would work. Politics offer so many ways to look bad.
Does Obama come out of this smelling like a rose? No. His tax plan does not get hurt much, but he looks a bit out of touch. He asked a crowd at a rally if they knew "any plumbers who make a quarter million dollars a year." I don't know much about what other people make, but I am friends with some plumbers, and I have paid a good many plumbing bills. From from I have observed, the work is hard, lots of skill is required, and don't expect to pay a small charge. It is easy for me to imagine a plumber making $250,000 dollars, especially if he has a brother, son, wife, daughter, or an employee or two working with him.
So all this has not taken us too far except maybe down the path that says "Enough talk, let's vote." I don't remember the poem but I recall the thought it expressed that comes back to me as I consider "Joe the Plumber."
The good in the worst of us
And the bad in the best of us
Should caution us all
<p>When we talk about the rest of us