Big Talk on 'Joe the Plumber'

The third and final debate Wednesday night was possibly the best yet. As the moderator, Bob Schieffer stayed on top of his game and continued to keep the ball rolling and get direct answers from both presidential candidates the best he could.
The debate covered many topics from health care to the negative tone of both campaigns.
But what the big question across the media has been is, "Who is Joe the plumber?" And is he related to "Joe six pack?" Who Gov. Sarah Palin mentioned in order to try and relate with people across the nation in her one and only debate against Sen. Joe Biden.
The answer is no. "Joe the plumber" is actually Joe Wurzelbacher from Ohio. Recently Wurzelbacher asked Sen. Barack Obama about his plan to raise taxes on people making a net profit of over $250,000 a year. Wurzelbacher was planning on buying the plumbing business he has been working for, but now may have to double think that one. If Wurzelbacher did decide to buy the business, it would be one of few small businesses to make it into the higher tax bracket. According to Sen. Obama 98 percent of small businesses would not see a nickle increase. But unfortunately for Wurzelbacher his would be in that small two percent and receive higher taxes.
“You know what Senator Obama had to say to Joe?” Mr. McCain asked. “That he wanted to spread his wealth around, he wanted to spread his wealth. What does that mean? He wants government to take Joe’s money and give it to somebody else. His hard-earned dollars! We’re not going to stand for that. America didn’t become the greatest nation on earth by spreading the wealth; we became the greatest nation by creating new wealth.” As reported by the NY Times.
Sen. Obama explained to Wurzelbacher that with 95 percent of Americans receiving tax breaks, they will be able to afford to higher him of his services. He believes that we must build from the bottom up, and if the working class is doing well, then our country is doing well.
McCain "is trying to suggest a plumber is the guy he's fighting for," Obama said in New Hampshire. "How many plumbers you know making a quarter million dollars a year?" The LA Times reported.
In previous debates Obama has pointed out that Sen. John McCain wants to give tax cuts to some of the largest corporations in the nation, which includes, Exxon Mobile Corp.


Photograph by Seema Mehta and Michael Muskal