In Texas, if a plumber is working without a license he is called a "Jake Legged" plumber. Joe, what attention would you be getting in this election if your name were Jake?

Marilyn Gamble

Henrietta, TX USA

Abviously, 'Joe the Plumber' is a metaphor for the 'average American'.  Again, the media is distorting the message.  Any example or metaphor that McCain will use will be attacked because of who is delivering the message.  Like 'Joe the Plumber', I'm concerned about the outcome of the election.  I trust someone who uses 'Joe the Plumber' to prove his point.  I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A 'WARM FUZZY FEELING' ABOUT OBAMA!!! And race has nothing to do with it...

McCain Voter

Philadelphia, PA USA

Hi, I am Joe the Doctor.  I do make over 250K per year and I am voting Obama/Biden.  I find it interesting that so many people are complaining about paying more taxes when you make over 250K but they do not make even close to this amount, like Joe the Plumber.  I work at a practice where all the partners make over 250K and we are all voting for Obama.  The majority of us are independents but we feel this election is an important one and even though we also have mortgages and loans to pay off, we are entrusting Obama with our vote since we truly believe he will do a better job overall in getting the USA back to its respectable status as a world leader, financially and morally.  Also we did not make our good living without the help of many people and institutions along the way, so this thought of having to work hard for nothing and not thinking we have to give anything back is not valid.  I guess for those of you who do not make over 250K or those of you who did with family money making it easy for you, you might see things differently.  We did work hard to get where we are, but we still feel we have to do our part to go in the right direction for our country.  Now I would say, this is really 'country first'.  Who says it is not patriotic to pay taxes??  We feel we are helping out with paying more taxes, rather than keeping the money for ourselves.

Joe the Plumber and Joe Sixpack are the two main characters of the Mc Ain't campaing, but a closer look at Joe the Plumber showed that he OWES TAXS!! and that he actually has a LIEN on his house because he OWES taxes!. Ok....let's se: hmmmmm he is for Mc Aint't, because he doesn't want to pay highers taxes? But if he doesn't pays his taxes in the first place, what does he cares?????/......Would Mc Ain't keep using him on his campaing? A guy who does Not pay taxes??/

This was just another pathetic attempt by the McCain campaign to grab people's attention without giving them anything of substance. Joe the Plumber might as well be a cardboard image because when you look behind him, there is nothing there! Too many of McCain's followers want some kind of "image" to rally behind, instead of keeping the real issues front & center. Even when McCain talks about the actual issues, he spouts lies, half-truths and misleading catchphrases. We've have eight years of that and I AM TIRED OF IT.

I understand the representation of Joe the Plumber to be the average American citizen. This clearly shows the difference between McCain and Obama. Obama doesn't know United States History. When he was asked about the Hanford Project he couldn't answer the thousands of Americans that are right now trying to contain the biggest contamination site in US History and probably the world. How does anyone get to be elected that doesn't know about the Manhattan project. Hanford is no longer a secret? That tells me he doesn't know anything about US History, alternative energy, health care/medical supplies, Environmental protections, Home Land security, US Monuments (Hanford Reach), economics...I could go on but I won't. What's in a name? Everything! Look at his name. And nobody should have the right to smear a United States citizen that is asking a question. We have the right to know. I would like to see what McCain knows about Hanford though. This might be a stumbling block for both of them. Palin might be the only one of them that knows lol. And that is saying alot.

Would John McCain even so much as walk up to someone considered "Joe The Plumber" if he were not running for election?  No  and neither would Sarah Palin.  McCain is a good man and I respect his service to the U.S. but his choice of Palin is a little beneath his intelligence.  Thought he was smarter than that.  Women would have voted for McCain even if he had a man as his running mate.  Women don't vote just because there is a woman on the ticket.  We are not that shallow and someone needs to tell the "hockey mom" that too.

You go girl (mimiC230)you hit it right on the head. If he chose her as his running mate,what other unforgiving mistakes as president might he make????? hes just never had a set agenda,hes jumping all over the place. I hate all of there negative rallies,ive been to two its pretty scary to say the least.Not what we need these days,I usually vote Rep. but not this year.

Under the GOP's current vote suppression strategy in Ohio, McCain's now famous icon might have had a hard time casting a ballot. In a case that has now gone to the Supreme Court for review, Republicans in the state are challenging the registrations of all new voters whose names and other information do not exactly match those in government databases. It turns out that one of the present Ohio voters who could have fallen into this category is Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher—or is it Worzelbacher?—otherwise known as Joe the Plumber.

The man John McCain lionized in Wednesday night's debate has since had every aspect of his life scrutinized by the media. They've uncovered some contradictory facts, to say the least: He's not really a plumber, he probably wouldn't pay more taxes under Obama if he bought his business, and he hasn't actually paid some of the taxes he already owes. He's also registered to vote under a different name.

The New York Times politics blog The Caucus yesterday included the following piece of information:

Mr. Wurzelbacher is registered to vote in Lucas County under the name Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher.

"We have his named spelled W-O, instead of W-U," Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said in a telephone interview. "Handwriting is sometimes hard to read. He has never corrected it in his registration card."

The records, she said, showed he voted Republican in the March primary.

Because Joe the Plumber registered and has a record of voting in the past, he would not be among those targeted by the Republicans. That privilege is reserved for the voters with newly filed registration applications--a group that clearly favors Obama.

On Tuesday, a federal court ruled in favor of the GOP, ordering Ohio's Democratic Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, to release a list of those voters whose information on voter registration applications does not match the information on Social Security and drivers license databases. Republicans want to force these voters to cast provisional ballots, which can later be scrutinized and challenged; some may instead choose to simply go home.

The list includes a stunning 200,000 of the 660,000 Ohioans who have registered since January 1 of this year. The magnitude of the number—like the glitch in Joe the Plumber's registration—prove the fallibility of a system in which sloppy handwriting is being used to deny people their most basic democratic rights.

The article was originally submitted by "Guardians On the Road to The White House" blog

it just goes to show that that the mccaine campaign has very little to offer the people. an all those people holding on to the word's of his running mate saying all the democrate's do is look back, what is she afraid of?

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL3dhdGNoP3Y9aHd0YXlKQ0s1TFk=

1st of all I will explain, that I have been a registered Republican for 30 years. I have my plumbing and HVAC license. I am offended that Joe the plumber who has not paid his fair share is being used to try and get my vote. Lets face it, most of us normal people are not close to making 250k a year. Including Joe the plumber.

Now onto the last insult, that I just witnessed this morning, when I was watching Meet The Press. When McCain was asked about the Joe the plumber line and the $150,000.00 that was just spent for cloths for Palin, his response was, Palin lives a FRUGAL life, she is not rich, the cloths will be given away at the end of the campain. 

I for one pay more then my fair share, while the upper level gets tax breaks and seems to take more vacations. Owning a samll buisness the last 8 years has been a challenge to say the least. MOST SMALL BUISNESS OWNERS do not make 250k per year.

Can someone smarter than myself fine out how much the Gov. of Alaska makes and then see just what Macain thinks a FRUGAL life is.

I'M VOTING FOR OBAMA, I'M TIRED OF PAYING FOR THE RG's (rich guys) VACATIONS.

Not sure if I am posting this in the right spot, as I have never done this before, but here it goes.

I was furious after watching an interview with Charles Barkley on 10/27/2008.

When asked if he thought the McCain camp had injected race into the campaign he stated yes.  His reasons for this belief infuriated me more.  Discussing terrorism and Bill Ayers is somehow racist?  And code words?  Are u kidding?!!!?  Someone needs to explain to me how discussing a man’s relationship with a domestic terrorist equates to racism.  And ‘code words’???  I guess I need some enlightening.  This is insane!  Are we no longer all living on planet earth? 

The McCain campaign has not injected race in any way, shape or form but has done the opposite.  They will not allow Jeremiah Wright to be a legitimate issue, which it is, because they are afraid of being accused of injecting race and being labeled racist.  Any person who chooses to belong to a church which perpetuates racism and hate has the constitutional right to do just that, no questions asked.  However, a man who has poised himself to be the next leader of this country who makes this same choice cannot expect not to be judged for it.  The man wants to be president of the United States for God’s sake, and we can’t discuss his radical associations without being labeled racist!!

I believe that many democrats and African Americans have been hoping and waiting for McCain to somehow make race an issue and they have been ready to pounce.  Since he hasn’t done this they are now fabricating it, hence, ‘code words’.  I do not believe Sarah Palin’s ‘hockey moms’ comment meant to exclude blacks.  Don’t these moms as well take their kids to sports activists??  Hockey just happens to be her kid’s sport of choice.  So what.  She was simply trying to connect with the typical mom who is juggling home, kids and in many cases work.

Obama, on the other hand, has injected race.  "They are going to tell you he doesn't look like the other guys on the dollar bills.", nothing code about that.  And has the media criticized him for those statements?  No, of course not, they would then be labeled racists right?  The media has a powerful impact on our society and social opinions.  They should be honest and fair enough to call it like it is.  But we rarely see that and it’s a shame.

In all fairness to Obama, I think he is a good man with good intentions.  However, he has chosen to associate himself with radical people.  We must assume these people have contributed to his philosophy, beliefs and judgment, especially his pastor of 20 years.  Although policy issues are certainly important when choosing are next president, his philosophy and beliefs are at the core of whom he is and no doubt affects his judgment.  Why is this being ignored by the media and even by many Americans, both black and white????

I am not a racist, although many might label me one after reading this.  I want to see African Americans and all minorities succeed in life and be treated the same as anyone else.  I oppose racism to my very core.  My vote will not go to him due to his associations and because of where he stands on many issues, not because of his race.  Unfortunately there will be some whites who will not vote for Obama solely because of his race, which is sad.  But to be fair, there are many blacks who are voting for Obama only because he is black and choose not to consider his associations, and not to look at his record and where he stands on policy issues.  The only good thing that would come from an Obama presidency, in my opinion is the fact that he is black.  Although racism will unfortunately always exists on both sides, our first black president will certainly knock down a huge hurdle towards ending it.  I truly hope it will happen in the future, but not Obama.

AN AVERAGE JOE?????????yeah my name is joe and i have had a small business that deals with tourism since 1994......thats 14 years and i have never made over $82,000.00............HOW SMALL IS SMALL???.........i am not worried about paying more taxes with obamas plan cause i will not be making $250,000.00 this year........in fact, lucky to make $50,000.00 cas gas prices have also affected my business.........again.......I AM AN AVERAGE JOE.........knowing other small business people.........$250,000.00         WE WISH................the businesses that i KNOW make that much and almost all of them owe BACK TAXES which are more than $100,000.00...........the tax system now allows them to extend paying their taxes and for how many years...........there are so many "AMERICANS" SO THEY CALL THEMSELVES that DO NOT PAY TAXES EVEN WHEN THIS SYSTEM SAYS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO..................BY EXTENDING............proven with businesses and government officials..................if they would PAY "ALL" THEIR TAXES   america could be #1 again...........my theory.......publish businesses and etc that OWE.........JUST LIKE sex offenders..........these people are molesting and killing small businesses as well as AMERICA................why not advertise just who these businesses are.......believe me have spoken to others but because they themselves owe taxes they do not respond............DO YOU PAY TAXES EVERY YEAR AND ON TIME??..........ARE THEY THE PROBLEM??...........do not buy from these businesses and publish the molesters........i have to or the government is right there to SHUT DOWN AND TAKE MY BUSINESS............FIND OUT WHAT BUSINESSES OWE TAXES..............IT AFFECTS YOU

Republicans have joe the plummer

                        BUT

Demacrates have liquid plummer and coming out FULL Strength

I am NOT Joe the Plumber:

I am licensed in my field

        AND

I pay my taxes!!!!

John and Sarah have no knowledge or contact with any of the so called average 'Joe's they have selective laid claim to being representatives of in thispolitical arena. These are two abusive and abrasive fat cat that are morally desitute and depraved. They have no concerns for the environment or any of the American people.

I have to bring to the minds and hearts of Americans something I feel is important to address and especially because our new President wants to unite our country.  Everywhere you turn you only hear people saying the Obama  is only "black". 

However, I would like to propose that in him we have a great leader and uniter as he comes from both a black and white family.  He was born into this destiny of both a black and white culture.

Congratulations Americans.  Continue to keep the vision of successful outcomes in mind as we transition from where we are now to where President Obama will take us.

This is what is in a name.  President Elect Obama has a good name.  He has a sense of family.  I remember my great grandmother, Eliza Mculhaney Sampson telling me to keep a list of last names so I would recognize and know my family even if I could not remember first names.  I am 56 now.  And here is the list:  Artis, Baker, Boyd, Bates, Boykins, Collins, Davis, DeVane, Dyson, Ellerby, Emanuel, Franks, Foy, Falzone, English, Greenhowe, Greene, Green, Hooper, Cooper, Jenkins, Jones, Jaccobs, Freeman, Piper, Ragin, Santana, Simmons, Scott, Sidbury, Sidberry, Shepard, Sadgwar,Swain, Swann, Sharpless, Mandy, Mallette, Mapson, Morgan, McIntyre, Hassell, James, Moore, Nixon, Taylor, Quick, Welch, Jones, Falzone, West, Lott, Morse, McDaniel, Hersey, Hussey,Rhodes, Spaulding, Spears, Wagoner, etc.   So there is a great deal in a name.  Together there is unity.

From Africa to Europe to US to Islands:  this is our family.  We support Obama,Biden, & Emanuel and their value of family.  I heard Biden with his mother, I heard Emanuel with his parents and I see Obama with his family-that is what is in a name whose name is stamped in the blood of the Lamb-the living God.

Obama you are not a mut!!! You are an intelligent person with an agenda and goal.  Do not let people rush of push you.  Do the job you were elected to do.  We have had enought jokes and jokers in charge.  So, be a family man with a bloodline of diversity that rings out to others.  However, be direct,stern and "lean not to your own understanding".  Let God direct your path as he has already. 

People will try to rush you and persecute you but, hold on to God's unchanging hand and run on.  The real muts are the ones that "kiss you on the cheek and stab you in the back".  Watch out for that breed.

We do not expect you to do everything but, do what you know is right and pleasing in God's sight.  Be excited but, do not let the lights dim your view of things.