Stuck on Stupid: Joe the Plumber Campaigns

Photo from source, Raw Story

What kind of whacked-out world do we live in, where a guy like "Joe the Plumber" becomes not only a theme and rallying cry for the John McCain campaign, but is actually campaigning? I suppose they figure that Sarah Palin--who was completely uneducated on what Presidents and Vice Presidents do--did all right, so why not Joe?

Well, some of the problem for me, is that right out of the gate, we discovered that ol' Joe was a fraud on several fronts. Least of these is that he's not named Joe (it's his middle name) and he isn't really a plumber. The question he asked Barack Obama that brought him--via McCain at the last debate--to national attention, was riddled with inaccuracies. Also, for a guy so worried about taxes, Joe was in trouble for not paying his. And finally, it turns out that Obama's tax plan would actually benefit him more than McCain's would.

But, forget all that! Facts have rarely gotten in the way of a good GOP storyline, and they're not gonna start now! I mean, Stephen Colbert even had to coin a term for their M.O.: truthiness. A story doesn't have to be true, it just has to feel true. Add to that America's capacity to turn an "ordinary Joe" (or Sam) instantly famous, and you've got an instant celebrity.

But if you were McCain, would you really want him to campaign for you? See, Joe might make a great mascot, a good sound bite, but he's a little nutty when it comes to politics. For instance, he agrees with the thought that "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel." Really?

There's more. . .

[Excerpt]

Fox host berates 'Joe the Plumber' after McCain surrogate says Obama vote means 'death to Israel'

The all-out effort from John McCain's presidential campaign to scare voters into backing the Republican candidate continued apace on Tuesday as McCain surrogate Joe the Plumber agreed that a Barack Obama presidency would mean the "death of Israel" and end democracy in America. . .

Read more at: Raw Story