Live Mic, Dead Plumber

The rule of thumb in radio is to always assume that the microphones are live. Few follow this guideline, but here's a reminder about why it's a good idea.

Why does J the P inspire such hostility amongst liberals?

Pulling Punches

Even Joe the Plumber is too upwardly mobile to overtly question Barack's patriotism - but why not just come out and say, when asked if his love of country is in doubt, say sure!

"McCain has fought and bled for our country, loves our country," said Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber," who has campaigned throughout Ohio with and on behalf of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "There's too many questions with Barack Obama and his loyalty to our country. And I question that greatly."

What's wrong with saying, "Anyone who is mentored by a guy who ran a violent war against the U.S. government has some explaining to do." Why is everyone on the McCain team afraid to say that? Then, the ball would be in Barack's court to prove his lack of a relationship with Ayers.

Fox News' Neil Cavuto tried to clarify: "You're not doubting that he's a good American. Or you are?"

"His ideology is completely different from what democracy stands for," said Wurzelbacher.

Sounds like J the P is already listening to consultants.

Trader Joe

Where's Joe?

Although it might seem like Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher is everywhere these days, he wasn't at John MCain's rally this morning in the small town of Defiance, Ohio.

Except that nobody told the Republican presidential nominee that.

And so, in the midst of his speech, McCain called out to Wurzelbacher, as he often does on the campaign trail.

“Joe’s with us today," McCain told an audience of about 6,000 people. "Joe where are you? Where is Joe? Is Joe with us today?” he asked.

Joining the Nader campaign, perhaps?

When Joe failed to appear, an awkward silence settled over the crowd.

Then McCain, politician that he is, made lemonade out of lemons. "All right," he told the crowd. "Well, you’re all Joe the Plumbers, so all of you stand up!"

October Surprise

Joe the Plumber doesn't live alone anymore.

"I'm not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts - the institution just isn't structured that way."

As I fell asleep last night, I set the sleep timer so I could end the day with Hannity's America. There was some analyst - I don't remember who, and maybe he was on Hannity or maybe after - talking about whether there was still a way for McCain to win. He was saying yes, but not really. It would take one hell of an October Surprise for McCain to pull it out. This morning - there it is - on Drudge.

"The Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society..."

We know that Barack was raised, politically, by radicals - and there's no hyperbole in using that language. The challenge has been knowing to what degree he, as a matured politician, still operates on the intellectual underpinnings of what he learned from Frank Marshall Davis, Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright, et al.

"As radical as people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical - it didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the constitution - at least as it's been interpreted, and that's how the Warren Court interpreted it in the same way - that generally the constitution is a charter of negative liberties..."

In this wonderful tape, Barack talks tactics. He is disappointed that the court rulings of the civil rights years only offered blacks the protections the rest of us enjoy, but didn't force wealth redistribution on the country, and he's discussing how redistribution can be achieved moving forward.

"It says what the states can't do to you, it says what the federal government can't do to you, but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf."

This proves that Barack is not a JFK "Ask not" kind of guy. He's the opposite. Which flies in the face of the premise of America, that which made the country great, the idea that if you give people the chance to get ahead based on what they can do, rather than who they are, you've achieved the end game. The results are up to them. Barack, and liberalism, wants the results guaranteed.

"...and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that."

Barack's frustration is that an activist court could have forced the country into socialism, but that the Warren Court just wasn't radical enough. In retrospect, he realizes the court is an institution that isn't designed for this sort of administrative role - he thinks that economic redistribution must be achieved some other way.

Happy October Surprise.

Plumber Killers

The good government guys are the ones you've got to watch out for.

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher became part of the national political lexicon Oct. 15 when Republican presidential candidate John McCain mentioned him frequently during his final debate with Democrat Barack Obama.

The party of women hates women who are pro-life.

The 34-year-old from the Toledo suburb of Holland is held out by McCain as an example of an American who would be harmed by Obama's tax proposals.

The party of diversity rejects diversity of viewpoint.

Public records requested by The Dispatch disclose that information on Wurzelbacher's driver's license or his sport-utility vehicle was pulled from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times shortly after the debate.

The party of the working man thinks the working man should be seen, but not heard.

Information on Wurzelbacher was accessed by accounts assigned to the office of Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department.

When it comes to slimy politics, the party of good government appears to have studied under Richard Nixon.

It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver's license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law enforcement and government business.

Paul Lindsay, Ohio spokesman for the McCain campaign, attempted to portray the inquiries as politically motivated. "It's outrageous to see how quickly Barack Obama's allies would abuse government power in an attempt to smear a private citizen who dared to ask a legitimate question," he said.

Nah. Couldn't have been politically motivated.

Ladies & Gentlemen

It's a wonder that Barack still lets Biden out to campaign.

Then again, Barack created Joe the Plumber.

Liberal Attack Machine

We all know what a bad person Joe the Plumber is. He is a suspicious character, not to be trusted, as he 1) uses his middle name, pretending it's his first, 2) he owes some back taxes, and 3) he doesn't make $250,000 a year. Just call him Joe the Fraud - he doesn't even have a license when it's not required!!!

Which has the liberal attack machine forgetting that Joe the P isn't the point. He just happened to be standing there when Barack confessed that his tax cut plan isn't a tax cut plan - it's a wealth redistribution plan. No reason for Barack to be so embarrassed - anyone paying a moment's attention knew already that he was planning on giving tax rebates to people who don't pay federal income taxes, and that is a social program, not a tax cut.

JOE THE ACORN

While Joe the Plumber has put a face on Barack's big tax lie - he is about redistributing the wealth being acquired by the overpaid plumbers of America - ACORN has become the symbol of the radicalism that fills the pint size container of experience that purports to qualify Barack for the presidency.

"Sen. Obama won't tell you the full truth about his tax increases, and now he's kinda fuzzing up his connections to ACORN," said Palin, of the "Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now."

"Now, ACORN is under investigation for rampant voter fraud in thirteen states," Palin said, herself "fuzzing up" the difference between fraudulent voter registration forms and voter fraud, which is quite different.

The McCain campaign, while relishing the opportunity that Barack has presented with his J the P gaffe, is wise keep ACORN in the mix.

Palin then detailed the myriad connections between Obama and the group. "Now, Obama says that his only involvement with ACORN was when he represented the group as a lawyer," she said. "But what about the training that he provided ACORN in the past and ACORN staff, and his role in past ACORN voter registration efforts? And then, there's the $200,000 that he got for ACORN when he was on the board of the Woods Fund. And the fact that ACORN endorsed him this year and they're working pretty hard on his behalf."

She also noted that "a front group for ACORN received over $800,000 from the Obama campaign."

This is the kind of information the American people need to make an informed decision about Barack, and it may inflame concerns that keep Barack from establishing the sort of lead you'd expect him to have in this race.

"All of this would be a lot of baggage to drag into the Oval Office," Palin said. "And Americans are entitled to answers before Election Day ... John and I are calling on the Obama campaign to release communications it has had with this group and to do so immediately."

That's a good demand! They should make a formal request of discovery - all payments, bills, phone records, emails, etc. The public has a right to know!

She ended her remarks by saying she knew Ohioans wouldn't "let them turn the Buckeye State into the Acorn State."

Joe Knows

As the Dems try to destroy Joe the Plumber's power as a lightning rod in the presidential race, Joe Biden goes after the credibility of J the P.

Barack the Listener

One of Barack's reputed attributes that makes the elites drool over him is his ability to listen.

It’s the ears. I mean, it’s not literally his ears. It’s the idea of his ears. Barack Obama has the capacity to listen. And America needs nothing more now than a president who knows how to listen.

Being a good listener is indicative of a thinker. Brains and compassion first, ego second. The antithesis of W.

Barack Obama is unique in a wide field of Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls in that he doesn’t just talk the talk. He has spent his entire career listening the listen, from his work as a community organizer to his current job as the junior Senator from Illinois.

So watch the listener in action - with none other than Joe the Plumber.

J The P

Joe the Plumber, Superstar.

In Toledo on Sunday, Wurzelbacher told Obama that he was preparing the company, which earns more than $250,000 a year, and said: "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?"

Barack slipped up while trying to ingratiate himself to Joe on Sunday, and told the truth about his tax plan to a working guy who wants to buy a business. It's not a tax cut, it's income redistribution - on the back of a plumber.

Obama said that under his proposal taxes on any revenue from $250,000 on down would stay the same, but that amounts above that level would be subject to a 39 percent tax, instead of the current 36 percent rate.

Unfortunately, McCain did a ham handed job of using that stick on Barack last night. But he did manage to make Joe the star of the night.

"And the reason why we're doing that is because 95 percent of small businesses make less than 250 (thousand). So what I want to do is give them a tax cut. I want to give all these folks who are bus drivers, teachers, auto workers who make less, I want to give them a tax cut," he said.

Wurzelbacher protested, saying he's been a hardworking plumber for 15 years and why should he be taxed more.

The truth is now there for the country to see. McCain will have to focus hard on this over the next 19 days.

"It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama said. "I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you that they've got a chance at success, too."

At a later point in the discussion, Obama said: "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody. But listen, I respect what you do and I respect your question, and even if I don't get your vote, I'm still gonna be working hard on your behalf because small businesses are what creates jobs in this country and I want to encourage it."

So Barack sees Joe Wurzelbacher as one of the rich guys who's wealth needs to be redistributed.