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McCAIN FAILS TO GET A QUICK FIX FROM JOE THE PLUMBER



"DAILY MAIL" FORIEGN SERVICE SATURDAY OCTOBER 18TH

He was held up as the model of a typical hardworking American taxpayer in the latest U.S. Presidential debate.

But by yesterday the story of "Joe the Plumber" had sprung a few leaks-- he's not a registered plumber, he owes £500 in back taxes, and he's not really called Joe.

The story started when a man called joseph Wurzelbacher questioned Democratic candidate Barack Obama on the campaign trail in Ohio, saying he was hoping to buy a plumbing business from his boss.

'your new tax plan is going to cost me more, isn't it' he asked.

The soundbite was jumped on by Republican John Mccain, who used Mr Wurzelbacher to bolster his claim that middle-class America would be better off under his tax plans.

In Thursday's Presidential debate, the two candidates mentioned 'Joe the Plumber' more than 25 times.

But Mr McCain , 72, was criticisede by pundits yesterday for failing to check Mr Wurzelbacher's background thoroughly before using him as a platform for some of his most strident attacks.

After it was discovered that he did not have a plumber's licence - a legal requirement in Ohio - Mr Wurzelbacher said he did not need one because he was he was only an employee of a plumbing company.

However, an official at the local branch of the plumbers' union said this was not the case. Thomas Joseph of the United Association of Journey-man and Apprentices of the plumbing and pipe fitting Industry said: 'Everyone is asking the same thing: Who is this guy? Is he joe the fake plumber?'

Mr Wurzelbacher, a 34-year-old single father from Holland, Ohio, was bemused by his sudden fame yesterday. 'Everybody wants to know about it', he said. 'I just hope I'm not making too much of a fool of myself'.

You've got to admit folks -- it's a tad embarressing for two candidates to mention him 25 times in the debate???

Concurred. Especially when neither of them bothered to check him out. I'm embarrassed for them both.

Hmmm.

What a sad state of affairs. An American citizen asks a Presidential candidate a question and suddenly he is a liar and a thief. Plumbing companies don't just employ plumbers. Now, I haven't read everything about the story but I don't remember reading that Joe said he was a plumber, just that he was wanting to buy his boss's plumbing business. As for the taxes - divorce is an expensive beast. Maybe he didn't pay those taxes because he was using every dime he had fighting for custody of his kids and keeping food on the table.

Whether he is a licensed plumber with all of his taxes paid or not - he had a valid question and Obama answered it.

Why should the candidates be embarassed by this? And what in the world does this man's plumbing license and back taxes have to do with McCain? I don't remember hearing anything about McCain sending this guy in as some kind of "spy" to ask the question.

RedGlitter;1024987 wrote: Concurred. Especially when neither of them bothered to check him out. I'm embarrassed for them both.


So, if you went to a candidates rally and wanted to ask them a question - you would expect them to go and investigate everything about your past before they answered it?

Obama stumbled upon Joe the Plumber in Ohio by accident, it was McCain who made him a household name in 90 minutes to the American public and the new symbol of his campaign. If McCain or his advisors did not think Joe would be subjected to the "15 minutes of fame" scrutiny of the press, then they are truly ignorant of today's American culture. And then the hypocracy of McCain lamenting that Joe the Plumber is a victim -- he is a victim of the McCain/Palin ticket that is so desperate they will use and sacrifice ANYONE in order to win!



I never wrote that but I agree with every word...

Politics always makes me shudder.

What makes me shudder is the fact that this has become all about the "bad" plumber and the message of the issue is forgotten.

So, I guess a citizen can't ask a question of a candidate or politician unless they live a perfect life. That is truly sad.

This is what happens when you have a modern political election system aimed at children, based on trivialities, and rooted in denial about real life. The US is in big trouble right now as are the rest of us. The choice of the next leader may be the deciding factor in whether America will recover from this or will have to wait a generation. Thats how serious it is, and yet here we have a typical cynical pop-sound-bite bit of nonsense that should be left for the Oprah show.

If there is one over-riding reason why the problems of the economy and the undermining of western power and influence have become so acute, its because of this ridiculous version of public life in which a life-or-death debate about America's future, and the election for first citizen of the most powerful state in the world, becomes a facile TV argument about some rather inane guy in hicksville is "happy" and whether the candidates are "nice guys".

What a joke, no wonder the rest of the world laughs at you so much. I am a great admirer of America and its achievements, but sometimes the self-destructive nature of the place is heartbreaking.

Galbally;1025028 wrote: This is what happens when you have a modern political election system aimed at children, based on trivialities, and rooted in denial about real life. The US is in big trouble right now as are the rest of us. The choice of the next leader may be the deciding factor in whether America will recover from this or will have to wait a generation. Thats how serious it is, and yet here we have a typical cynical pop-sound-bite bit of nonsense that should be left for the Oprah show. If there is one over-riding reason why the problems of the economy and the underlining of western power and influence have become so acute, its because of this ridiculous version of public life in which a life-or-death debate about America's future, and the election for first citizen of the most powerful state in the world, becomes a facile argument about some rather inane guy in hicksville is "happy" and whether the candidates are "nice guys". What a joke, no wonder the rest of the world laughs at you so much. I am a great admirer of America and its achievements, but sometimes the self-destructive nature of the place is heartbreaking.


:yh_whistl:yh_whistl:yh_whistl:yh_think:yh_think:

LilacDragon;1024990 wrote: So, if you went to a candidates rally and wanted to ask them a question - you would expect them to go and investigate everything about your past before they answered it?


I believe you've misunderstood me. I don't care that anyone asked questions; I care that a politician used a common citizen to try to better his campaign and ended up looking like an idiot. Wait, that last part was redundant.

The biggest thing here is that the man asked a question and Obama answered it. The Obama campaign is pissed because Barack slipped and let his true intentions be known.

Now they are back paddling in an effort to deflect attention away from this. They are making an issue of this guy's background as a way to do this.

What a joke, no wonder the rest of the world laughs at you so much. I am a great admirer of America and its achievements, but sometimes the self-destructive nature of the place is heartbreaking. Quoted by Galbally..



Yes, and I'm so sorry that you "perfect" people laugh at us Gal

Joe the Plumber is a symbol, an idea that is true, no matter what the real status of the individual that has suddenly come to personify it.



Does anyone have issues with what the symbol represents??

Kathy Ellen;1025336 wrote: What a joke, no wonder the rest of the world laughs at you so much. I am a great admirer of America and its achievements, but sometimes the self-destructive nature of the place is heartbreaking. Quoted by Galbally..



Yes, and I'm so sorry that you "perfect" people laugh at us Gal


Kathy, don't you take any notice of galbally. He is a potatoe eating, whiskey drinking, fiddle playing, turnip, twerp, peat bog trog from some tiny little principality called Ireland.

If you think that's rude, you should see what he calls me on other threads. The thing to do with these Irish (and those haggiss eating, jockstrap wearing, Scottish are the same), is to hammer their tiny Leprechaun skulls into their peat bogs with a tent pole hammer.

Please don't think the fine upstanding folk of Britain say the same.

I shall deal with you later gally boy. I told you i would call atruce providing you stopped upsetting our lovely American friends, you bog trog.:p:p:p:p

Kathy Ellen;1025336 wrote: What a joke, no wonder the rest of the world laughs at you so much. I am a great admirer of America and its achievements, but sometimes the self-destructive nature of the place is heartbreaking. Quoted by Galbally..



Yes, and I'm so sorry that you "perfect" people laugh at us Gal


Hey, if you think I think we are perfect over here, you are wrong, we are also idiots mostly. I just wish the actual issues would be taken seriously instead of this absolute horsesh*t. Kathy, it doesn't matter what happens in Ireland, we are not important, our leaders can't do much damage because they don't have the ability, unfortunatly thats not the case with your country. Anyway, look all countries and peoples have their own particular strengths and weaknesses, I don't mean to sound anti-American because I hate that unthinking stuff, so I am sorry if it comes across that way.

Accountable;1027530 wrote:


Very funny.

Odie needs to post her Palin one she sent me..... Bloody hilarious :wah::wah:

RedGlitter;1024987 wrote: Concurred. Especially when neither of them bothered to check him out. I'm embarrassed for them both.
See how gullible the candidates are. If they are. Maybe that is why we all want to believe in something or someone. Human nature??