Joe the Plumber may not know Diddley

Sen. Obama and Joe the Plumber

With little over two weeks to go before the 2008 presidential election, it seem that Sen. John McCain chances of becoming the 44^th president of the United States of America is becoming dimmer by the hour. The difficulties facing Sen. McCain are heightened by the fact that tossup states such as Virginia and Indiana that have not voted Democratic for the past 44 years seems to be leaning to the Democratic presidential candidate – Sen. Barack Obama. Ohio with 20 electoral college votes seems to be leaning democratic. Ohio is one of the states worst affected by the subprime crisis – homes bought there for $160,000 now failing to sell for $5,000.

In a desperate attempt to make a comeback, the Arizona senator is pulling every trick in the book. Most recently his latest weapon of choice was Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher also known as "Joe the Plumber," last week it was "Joe Six-Pack American." Joe the plumber name was mentioned at least 24 times during Wednesday’s presidential debate in Hempstead, New York by the presidential candidates.

Until a week ago, Joe, 34-year-old, a burly, bald headed white man and a plumber was unknown. "I was just really surprised that my name was mentioned," he told reporters after the debate. "I think it helped them get their points across, so I was happy about that."

The question is who the heck is Joe and how did his name become the center of attention during the 2008 presidential debate? Over the weekend when Sen. Obama was campaigning in Holland, Ohio, Joe asked Sen. Obama if he believed in the American Dream. Joe said he was about to buy a company that makes more than $250,000 a year and was concerned that Obama would tax him more because of it. Sen. Obama explained his tax plan in depth to Joe, saying it’s better to lower taxes for Americans who make less money so they can afford to patronize his business. "Redistributing the wealth, as far as my hard work, that upsets me," Joe added, "That’s not right. That’s not American."
"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody," Obama told Joe.

As I listened to Joe’s questions and comments on CNN, I immediate realized that Joe could used a book entitled “Accounting for Dumb & Dumber Dummies,” (I made up this book title). If $250,000.00 is his gross income, it will be offset by operating expenses etc. If $250,000.00 is his company’s net income than he can adjust the amount by taking more for his personal salary, or by making capital investments in his company such as trucks etc. As terrible as the economic is today, how certain is Joe that his new company will make more than $250,000? What would happen to Joe’s business if those who don’t make over $250,000 can’t afford to call him to unclog their toilets.

It seems as if Joe was looking for one of those deer in the headlights Sarah Palin-like moment against an intelligentsia – Sen. Obama. It was reported by a local Holland, Ohio radio station that Joe the Plumber’s story might be facing an overflowing toilet like problem. It turned out that the man who was held up by John McCain as the typical, hard-working American taxpayer isn’t really a licensed plumber. And court documents show he owes the state of Ohio nearly $1,200 in back taxes, according to Lucas County Court of Common Pleas records. In January 2007, Ohio’s Department of Taxation filed a claim on his property until he pays the debt, according to the records. The lien remains active.