Earlier today, CJR’s Megan Garber was right to fault the media for being distracted by the humor of the "Joe the Plumber" story. But I don’t quite agree with her suggestion that the media should have used him as a way to show tax policy's impact on "real people."
Post-debate digging has found that the real Joe Wurzelbacher, of Holland, Ohio, is not an undecided small businessman who is honestly trying to sort through the imact of the candidates' tax proposals. He voted in the Republican primary, and he regards a progressive tax code as un-American. He also is either confused about the details of the Obama tax plan, or simply distrusts the Democratic nominee. Wurzelbacher is entitled to his opinions, to be sure. But they make him a poor protagonist in stories about tax policy, not to mention a bad poster boy for McCain's attacks on the Obama tax plan.
Katie Couric scored the first interview with Wurzelbacher, and prompted this exchange:
COURIC: Well, he supposedly will raise taxes only on people who make over $250,000 a year. Would you be in that category?WURZELBACHER: Not right now at presently, but, you know, question, so he's going to do that now for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. You vote on somebody who decides that $250,000 and you're rich? And $100,000 and you're rich? I mean, where does it end? You know, that's - people got to ask that question.
In a subsequent interview, Diane Sawyer pressed Wurzelbacher on this point. Is it fair to tax at a higher rate people who make more than $1 million, she asked? Or $5 million?
Well, I mean, quite honestly, why should they be penalized for being successful?... That's wrong. Because you're successful, you have to pay more than everybody else? We all live in this country. It's a basic right. And Obama wants to take that basic right and penalize me for it, is what it comes down to. That's a very socialist view and it's incredibly wrong.
ABC also learned that the very premise that transformed Wurzelbacher into the anti-tax icon Joe the Plumber is false. John McCain claimed that The Plumber would make more than $250,000 annually if he were to become the owner of the business he currently works for, putting him into the tax bracket that would pay more under Barack Obama's proposal. But it turns out that the purchase price of the business is $250,000-$280,000. In all likelihood, Wurzelbacher would still belong to the 95 percent of Americans Obama has said will not see their taxes increase.
You have to feel a little sorry for Wurzelbacher, who suddenly has reporters uncovering the fact that he does not have a plumbing license and that he owes back taxes. Even before the Joe the Plumber frenzy began, The Washington Post's Tom Shales suggested devoting resources to covering a random guy from Holland, Ohio would be a symptom of the way "the electonic media are ever on the lookout for ways to trivialize the democratic process."
But the iconic power of someone called Joe the Plumber is compelling—that's why John McCain brought him up at every turn last night, and why McCain can’t stop talking about him today on the stump. In last night's debate, McCain invoked Wurzelbacher to lecture Obama: "what you want to do to Joe the Plumber and millions more like him is have their taxes increased and not be able to realize the American dream of owning their own business." When the moderator, Bob Schieffer, gave Obama the opportunity to respond to this charge, McCain persisted, "That's what Joe believes."
But the sincerity of this person's belief does not make it true—that's why the press has the obligation to turn the character Joe the Plumber into a real guy named Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. Voters deserve to hear about the real effects of the candidates' plans, not about the fictional world of a cartoon character.
I'll get called paranoid for sure, but this whole "Joe the Plummer"- Obama encounter has the nasty scent of a Republican PR stunt. Am I the only one who's B.S. detector is off the scale? I can't believe the attention this guy is getting.
He's not a "licensed" plumber, he once voted republican, he's making Obama look bad, hell is name isn’t even Joe!
Holy shit Lester, I didn’t think that so many DNC talking points could be crammed into such a short blog entry.
Job well done.
And think, if the hacks in the media put this much effort in digging up information on Obama as they have on Wurzelbacher, we might now lots more about ACORN and what Obama got for his $800,000 check to them. I guess that’s what happens when you speak truth to power Joe.
Joe the Plumber is guilty of violating the MSM's talking points. Not one of the countless "man in the street" interviews that supported Obama over the past year was challenged in the least. But Joe dared to have a differing opinion.
For that he must be destroyed.
Well Carl Stevens, Lester and thus all of CJR are obviously "in the tank." You need to get Bill O'Reilly and Steve Schmidt on the case!
This is a warning shot from the liberal media: Don't cross our candidate or we'll tear you down. So much for questioning authority.
Obama strolled onto Joe’s driveway trying to get another magical “moment with the people” on camera, and it backfired, someone asked a though question and “The One” let slip his real thoughts on redistributive tax programs. The response from Obama’s campaign and his surrogates in the press and the web has been to attack Wurzelbacher and go through every square inch of his life looking to discredit him(that’s you assholes). He is a private citizen whose question has sparked a more thorough investigation of his past and character than the press has given to Obama these past couple years.
If this is how candidate Obama behaves, how will President Obama treat individuals who dissent …. don’t you all think that dissent is the highest form of patriotism?
After this Kafkaesque spectacle all I can say is fuck Obama … no way I would vote for him now.
Obama didn't stroll into Joe's driveway. This is typical of Americans who want to put a partisan spin on everything. Joe admits he say Obama and wanted to ask him the "tough questions" that he thought no one was asking so he went over and challenged him about his tax plan. McCain is the one who brought him to the attention of the nation in the debate. Joe admits that he will pay less taxes under Obama's plan, but choses not to believe Obama will enact the plan. Obama is in no way responsible for the media checking out Joe's story or for Joe not paying his taxes or for McCain misrepresenting how much Joe makes. I seriously doubt that Joe would ever have voted for Obama, given his disdain for Social Security and his support for the Iraq War. I doubt John the plumber, who commented here, would ever have voted for Obama, given his name-calling and misrepresentation of the facts related to this story. I also doubt you've read Kafka, since the premise that Joe represents dissent in some way is illogical. If you want Kafkaesque examples of justice, I suggest you look to our current Supreme Court and the Bush administration. The premise that a different set of laws apply to enemy combatants or that such a thing as an enemy of the state exists based on suspected activities defined by the stste is a true example of Kafka's writing. John's charming use of crude vernacular suggests we may already have video of him at a Palin rally.
The word "say" above should have been "saw". Later in my post the word "stste" should read "state". Many apologies.
I think Kafkaesque is spot on.
I think the reason that the media hates Wurzelbacher is because he embarrassed them by doing the job they used to do. But in addition to the Kafkaesque nature of this, there is, like usual the rank stench of hypocrisy here. Remember when the DNC used Graeme Frost to deliver it talking points, unlike Wurzelbacher who is here out of happen chance, and some republicans dared to ask some questions .. how did that one go down?
So beware anyone who gets Obama to reveal his socialist tendencies, they will destroy you for it.