Opinion

Columbus, Ohio: When the curtain came down on the third and final presidential debate of 2008, any pipe dreams Arizona Sen. John S. McCain may have had about sinking the increasing fortunes that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is winning the hearts, minds and votes of Ohioans and other Americans who feel they are swirling down the drain of financial loss ended when the story of "Joe the Plumber" of Ohio, and the small business he said he wants to buy, rose up like backed up water from a clogged drain.

Obama and McCain sat is close quarters on the stage at Hoftra University in New York, the scene of the final debate in the run for the White House. The two candidates, who had sparred twice before with Mr. Obama coming out the victor previously by nearly all independent accounts, had their own strategies going into tonight's debate.

For Mr. Obama, who leads in national polls by by as much as 12 percentage points but who remains in a statistical dead-heat with Mr. McCain in Ohio, the goal was to continue to be cool, calm and collected. For Mr. McCain, whose campaign fortunes have been swirling down the drain in sync with a tanking stock market that has lost nearly 18 percent of its value in about two weeks, the mission was to fluster Mr. Obama, hoping to throw him off stride and gain a foothold he can use in the three weeks remaining until Election Day on Nov. 4th.
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While Mr. Obama succeeded in his goal, the same could not be said for Mr. McCain, whose demeanor appeared agitated and grumpy and whose responses to questions posed by BobSchieffer of CBS News seemed scatter-shot at worst and at best a tiresome repetition of Republican talking points that have either been taken to task by the media or were said to reward his political base at the expense of converting independent votes to his side.

The surprise highlight of the night was the emergence of the story of an Ohio plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher, who had occasion to speak with Mr. Obama during a tour Tuesday of northwest Ohio and Toledo, the major urban center there.
According to a report by The New York Times, Mr. Wurzelbacher, told Mr. Obama, "I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year...Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?”

Described in reports as a "burly, bald man with a goatee," the Ohio plumber was told by Mr. Obama in person, and again on television tonight, that because he was a small business, he would receive certain tax credits under his plan.

Mr. McCain used "Joe the Plumber" as an example of how his rival's tax policies would harm small businesses like the one Mr. Wurzelbacher said he was going to buy. What we don't know, of course, is whether Mr. Wurzelbacher will actually end up buying the business given the credit market crunch that's sucked the oxygen out of most business transactions

In point of fact, Mr. Wurzelbacher said his future company only "makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year," which is completely different than him making that sum personally. Mr. Obama has said no single taxpayer making less than $250,000 would see their taxes rise but 95 percent of Middle Class workers would see their taxes go down. Based on that fact, it appears Joe wouldn't be taxed more by Mr. Obama's plan.

Based on some Internet research it appears the average salary for a journeyman plumber is about $42,000 and a licensed plumber if about $51,000, according to one job-search site.

Mr. McCain applauded the plumber during this exchange with Mr. Obama on tax policy, congratulating the Ohioan on becoming "rich." "Joe, I want to tell you, I'll not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for 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 stand for a tax increase on small business income," McCain said.

Obama, explaining his position, told Joe this: "And the reason why we're doing that is because 95 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000. 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.

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

The discussion, which clearly amused debate watchers by introducing a new unknown person into the 90-minute discussion that placed the candidates within arm's reach of each other, did not venture into whether Mr. Wurzelbacher would drop health coverage for his future employees if, as Mr. McCain's healthcare plan allows, companies can ditch their employee health plans, resulting in employees having to buy their own insurance in the marketplace.

It's also curious that Mr. McCain would try so hard to say that this was not any time to "raise taxes on anybody" yet he would tax, for the first time, healthcare benefits.

In the fifteen minutes or more of fame from his chance encounter with Mr. Obama, Mr. Wurzelbacher, plumber for 15 years, said Obama's answer actually scared him. "He said he wants to distribute wealth. And I mean, I’m not trying to make statements here, but, I mean, that’s kind of a socialist viewpoint. You know, I work for that. You know, it’s my discretion who I want to give my money to; it’s not for the government decide that I make a little too much and so I need to share it with other people. That’s not the American Dream.” [New York Times]

Spreading the wealth, a notion Mr. McCain repeated over and over as if by doing so it would make the point that Mr. Obama wanted to steal from the rich and give to the poor -- what he called "class warfare," a now-tired talking point for seemingly wealthy Republicans who would rather keep every nickel than see it go to help someone else worse off than they -- flew in the face of the reality that more people with more money could buy more plumbing services, thereby boosting the revenues of Mr. Wurzelbacher's future business.

We don't know if Mr. Wurzelbacher voted for his chief executive or not, but Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland issued this statement on tonight's debate.

"Tonight Barack Obama demonstrated to millions of Americans he has the ideas, leadership and vision to create new jobs, repair our economy and bring the change we need to Washington. Obama’s smart, sensible plans will offer real relief to Ohio’s middle class, assist homeowners facing foreclosure and lead this country forward. The choice to lead this nation as the next president is clear, and that’s Barack Obama." [Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland]

Clearly excited by his role in tonight's debate, "Joe the Plumber" declined to tell reporters who have been hounding him since he encountered Obama recently which candidate wil get his vote.

"That's for me and a button to know," he said.

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