The 14th Minute of Fame: Why Joe the Plumber is Irrelevant

I slightly regret my earlier post on Samuel Wurzelbacher aka. Joe the Plumber, but not because I feel sorry for him, as Fox News believes I should. His ability to complain about inquiries into his past ended when he signed up for that slew of interviews. No, I regret my post because it played, ever so slightly, into the hands of the McCain campaign.

Forget that Wurzelbacher's background includes several shady areas. It doesn't matter if you can draw up conspiricy links from him to the Keatings and the McCain camp. It doesn't matter at all. It doesn't even matter that Joe would benefit more from Obama's proposed tax plan than from McCain's

Here's the point: "Joe the Plumber" is relevant only as an symbol of the moderate, undecided voter; a vision of the mainstream, blue collar worker that we can identify with. This is McCain's hope in using him (whether it was organic or faked) and McCain is trying to swing the moderate vote. And Wurzelbacher is not a moderate, nor do I believe he is undecided. He has radical, extreme right wing views that are outside of the mainstream of America. Anyone who thinks American troops should be treated like Jesus in Iraq and who doesn't want Social Security does not speak for the majority of Americans. He is obviously a McCain voter, and has always been. Whether the lie was his or McCain's makes no difference. The point is he does not speak for mainstream America and is therefore irrelevant. I will no longer speak or post about him because he and his views have no bearing on this extremely important election year.