Hat Tip: Ace via Slublog
Got to give the media credit, they sure aren’t shy about protecting their candidate. I think the reason is obvious. Obama cannot put this race away on his own. The polls are within 2-5 points depending on which one you look at.
Joe the Plumber asked a question of Barack Obama. Obama gave a poor and sloppy answer about “spreading the wealth around” that is being used, effectively, against him. What does he get get for his troubles? Michael Barone, in a pre-Joe the Plumber column, saw the future,
The Coming Obama Thugocracy
Attempts to shut down political speech have become routine for liberals.
In this campaign, we have seen the coming of the Obama thugocracy, suppressing free speech, and we may see its flourishing in the four or eight years ahead.
What have we learned this week about Joe the Plumber?
He’s related to Charles Keating of the Keating Five, maybe.
Joe the Plumber isn’t licensed!
The Politico reports that, oh no, “Joe the Plumber’s” name appears on Ohio voter registration rolls with a slight misspelling”. I wonder if he registered through ACORN?
Slate demands an answer! “What else is “Joe the Plumber” hiding from the American people?”
The New York Times has “the real deal” on his plumbing qualifications!
Atlantic Monthly says his real name is not Joe.
The LA Times reports today that Joe the Plumber has liens against him.
According to court records, creditors have secured at least two liens against [Joe the Plumber] Wurzelbacher, whose legal name is Samuel. Ohio has a $1,182 lien for owed taxes and St. Charles Mercy Hospital has filed a 2007 lien for $1,261.
Patterico explains,
I think we can all agree that this is critical information. Not because it says anything about Joe the Plumber, mind you. But it does serve a useful function: it warns any future citizen who might dare question Barack Obama that his life will be closely scrutinized for any irrelevant but embarrassing information.
So, you know. Critical in that sense. Oh — I almost forgot to mention: Martin Nesbitt, the treasurer of Obama’s campaign, has tax liens. So do his companies. You’d think that matters more than the tax liens of Joe the Plumber, wouldn’t you? But good luck finding a Big Media story about Nesbitt’s liens.
Out of curiosity, here is what I found in a few Google News searches,
“Martin Nesbitt and tax lien” – did not match any documents.”
“Martin Nesbitt tax lien” – did not match any documents.
“obama adviser and tax lien” – did not match any documents.
“obama and tax lien” – did not match any documents.
McCain, sensing a backlash against this absurd piling on, came out today and defended Joe The Plumber,
“The response from Senator Obama and his campaign yesterday was to attack Joe. People are digging through his personal life and he has TV crews camped out in front of his house,” McCain told a rowdy crowd at Florida International University. “He didn’t ask for Senator Obama to come to his house. He wasn’t recruited or prompted by our campaign. He just asked a question. And Americans ought to be able to ask Senator Obama tough questions without being smeared and targeted with political attacks.”
This afternoon, CNN reported the following,
As Democratic nominee Barack Obama pulled into the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday, he was greeted by the usual McCain campaign supporters that show at Obama rallies. But this time, those waving McCain-Palin signs were joined by dozens of people waving standard-issue plungers. Some wore white t-shirts emblazoned with “I AM JOE THE PLUMBER” on the front. The protesters all said they were volunteers and not paid by the McCain campaign.
Could this 24-month campaign come down to an unscripted moment of unintentional honesty during a rope line handshake? It certainly seems like many in the MSM think the answer may be yes.
UPDATE: The current AOL Hot Seat poll is by Ed Morrisey of Hot Air and he is asking the question, “Has Joe the Plumber been treated unfairly?”