Does anyone really give a shit about Joe the Plumber? - Page 4

fatbuckRTO · 01-18-2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebbs15

The media jumped on this guy, and pulled attention from the real issue. the question and answer. instead they tore this guys life apart for what?

Because they are the media. It's what they do. Any story that hits the national news. Toddlers dissappearing, businessmen faking their deaths by airplane, BART cops shooting people, whatever. If you hit the national news your life will be dissected on camera.

McCain knew that, or should have known, for the decades he's spent in the public view. If he thought he could just use an actual person as the focal point of his debate without drawing any attention to that actual person, he was either stupid or purposefully refusing to see.

OneSickPsycho · 01-18-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

So, I take it since some of you seem to think there was some concerted effort to distract the public, that you didn't like Obama's answer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFC9jv9jfoA

Which part of his answer was so damning that the media decided it must band together to destroy poor Joe?

There was no intent to help or hurt Obama or McCain. McCain put this loser in the spotlight, the media looked closer because he was in the spotlight, and everyone got to see what a loser he was. And apparently that's only benefitted him, because he sure as hell has not shied away from the spotlight.

The part that McCain and the Reps were harping about... the 'spread it around' part... The media's focus was on Joe, effectively distracting everyone from the socialistic tendencies the GOP and McCain were trying to focus on. Agree with that side or not, there's nothing in that interaction or anything that happened beyond it, that made it necessary to discredit the man... Again... the man did not matter...

OneSickPsycho · 01-18-2009, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

Because they are the media. It's what they do. Any story that hits the national news. Toddlers dissappearing, businessmen faking their deaths by airplane, BART cops shooting people, whatever. If you hit the national news your life will be dissected on camera.

McCain knew that, or should have known, for the decades he's spent in the public view. If he thought he could just use an actual person as the focal point of his debate without drawing any attention to that actual person, he was either stupid or purposefully refusing to see.

Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?

Toddlers disappearing, businessmen faking their deaths by airplane, BART cops shooting people, asking a question, whatever.

I'm betting you did terribly on those test questions that said, "pick the one that doesn't fit."

Mr Lefty · 01-18-2009, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

Because they are the media. It's what they do. Any story that hits the national news. Toddlers dissappearing, businessmen faking their deaths by airplane, BART cops shooting people, whatever. If you hit the national news your life will be dissected on camera.

McCain knew that, or should have known, for the decades he's spent in the public view. If he thought he could just use an actual person as the focal point of his debate without drawing any attention to that actual person, he was either stupid or purposefully refusing to see.

or he could have been just try'n to expose what Obama's plans would do to people like Joe.

fatbuckRTO · 01-18-2009, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?

Toddlers disappearing, businessmen faking their deaths by airplane, BART cops shooting people, asking a question, whatever.

I'm betting you did terribly on those test questions that said, "pick the one that doesn't fit."

Wurzelbacher wasn't a household name because of the question he asked Obama, or even the 5 minute conversation Obama had with him. He was a household name because McCain mentioned him every other breath during their last debate. If McCain had not done that, or even mentioned him only once or twice, the media wouldn't have keyed on him like they did.

Or do you honestly think the fact that Obama said the words "spread the wealth around" would have unravelled his whole campaign? I tend to think at least half the people that voted for him did so because they think he will "spread the wealth around" to them more.

OneSickPsycho · 01-18-2009, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

Wurzelbacher wasn't a household name because of the question he asked Obama, or even the 5 minute conversation Obama had with him. He was a household name because McCain mentioned him every other breath during their last debate. If McCain had not done that, or even mentioned him only once or twice, the media wouldn't have keyed on him like they did.

Or do you honestly think the fact that Obama said the words "spread the wealth around" would have unravelled his whole campaign? I tend to think at least half the people that voted for him did so because they think he will "spread the wealth around" to them more.

Again, you're missing the point. The media did a good job of ignoring or spinning anything that could have hurt the Obama campaign. The ONLY reason the media did what they did to Mr. Plumber is because it was another in a long line of stories that threatened to damage the Obama campaign. Was this the keystone issue that would have brought down the campaign? Probably not, but it could have damaged him... maybe made other people think of looking deeper into Obama.

VatorMan · 01-18-2009, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

Wurzelbacher wasn't a household name because of the question he asked Obama, or even the 5 minute conversation Obama had with him. He was a household name because McCain mentioned him every other breath during their last debate. If McCain had not done that, or even mentioned him only once or twice, the media wouldn't have keyed on him like they did.

Or do you honestly think the fact that Obama said the words "spread the wealth around" would have unravelled his whole campaign? I tend to think at least half the people that voted for him did so because they think he will "spread the wealth around" to them more.

Only LAZY mofos want the wealth spread to them. HARD WORKING mofos would like to keep a tiny bit for themselves. One believes in Socialism and one believes in Capitalism. Which are you? I know the answer.

fatbuckRTO · 01-18-2009, 08:10 PM

Quote:

MCCAIN: No. I would like to mention that a couple days ago Senator Obama was out in Ohio and he had an encounter with a guy who's a plumber, his name is Joe Wurzelbacher.

Joe wants to buy the business that he has been in for all of these years, worked 10, 12 hours a day. And he wanted to buy the business but he looked at your tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes.

You were going to put him in a higher tax bracket which was going to increase his taxes, which was going to cause him not to be able to employ people, which Joe was trying to realize the American dream.

Now Senator Obama talks about the very, very rich. Joe, I want to tell you, I'll not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for and be able -- and I'll keep your taxes low and I'll provide available and affordable health care for you and your employees.

And I will not have -- I will not stand for a tax increase on small business income. Fifty percent of small business income taxes are paid by small businesses. That's 16 million jobs in America. And 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.

McCain was trying to use this guy's own example, saying that Obama's tax plan would somehow ruin him and prevent him from hiring more people. I think the facts that

a) Wurzelbacher was in no position to buy the company and would not be in any position to do so anytime soon,
b) Wurzelbacher would not be in any position to hire anyone, with or without Obama's tax plan, and
c) There's no real evidence that, had Wurzelbacher actually been in any position to do any of those things, Obama's tax plan would keep him from doing them,

are all pertinent topics of discussion. McCain thought he had found the silver bullet, but didn't bother to fact check anything. The fact that Wurzelbacher wasn't going to be hurt by Obama's tax plan (in fact, he would have been one of the ones to receive a tax cut), and in fact there was no solid evidence that anyone would have been so negatively affected the way McCain described, is worth reporting in my opinion.

McCain was trying to hold "Joe the Plumber" up as proof of the horrors of an Obama administration. When the proof was found to be false, he tried to cry "no, no, it's the question that's important," in other words the possibility that there might be horrors in an Obama administration is what's really important. So the truth of "Joe the Plumber's" story was all important to McCain, until it was found to be untrue.