Hey Joe

At the end of the debate last night, David bet me a whole beer (!) that the most talked about moment of the debate would be when McCain referred to Obama as "Senator Government". By now, I think we can safely conclude that David is dead wrong, and dangerous for our country, because I've yet to read an article that even mentioned that moment.

What WAS the highlight of the debate, it turns out, was Joe Wurzelbacher (Alias: Joe the Plumber). So, I thought I'd post a video of Obama's actual conversation with him earlier this week, and then a few thoughts about what he means for our "democracy".

The conclusion you come to after watching this video is that you simply cannot win over League of Moron voters with substance. Joe the Plumber is obviously a card carrying member (as well as a hardcore conservative), which is why it is so infuriating to have him thrust into the media spotlight now as the spokesperson of the undecided middle class.

That being said, Obama gave just about the best pitch he could. He sat and talked with JtP for a good 15 minutes, and he tried to give a super-nuanced argument in favor of a progressive tax system. But the guy had already been won over by Steve Forbes, Mike Huckabee, or some other jackass, meaning a 'flat tax' is the only thing he will ever understand/support. Near the end of this discussion, Obama happens to use the phrase "spreading the wealth" in passing. McCain advisers pick up on it, decide to brand it as 'class warfare' (for the love of God someone tell me how shifting a tax bracket back to 39% after being 36% for eight years is fucking class warfare), and that's the only reason why we're talking about Joe today.

What's particularly infuriating is that the lengthy, substantive back and forth that BO and Joe had is the exact type of dialogue that McCain used to be famous for at his 'town halls.' McCain hated it when people took quotes from those strikingly honest discussions out of context, and then he goes and does that in the absolute worst way.

But seriously, check out what Obama said to this guy. It's really well done. Then check out Joe's response to the media:

"I asked the question, but I still got a tap dance ... almost as good as Sammy Davis Junior."

Then, kill yourself.