No more Joe

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

The economy is clearly a mess as we helplessly suffer through one of the greatest financial panics of all time. Nearly unanimously, the population believes our country is headed in “the wrong direction.”

Jeff Probst is creating a reality TV show about terminally ill people in the last days of their lives (it’s creatively entitled “Live Like You’re Dying”). Perhaps most heartbreakingly, one of our very own pop culture icons is deserting us in our time of need: Ringo Starr has stopped responding to fan mail because he is just too busy.
But hey, look on the bright side: At least you aren’t Joe Wurzelbacher.

You probably know him by his nickname, “Joe the plumber.” This stereotypical American has come to represent everything wrong with “spreading the wealth around” and Obama’s tax proposals in general. One moment, he was a normal guy from Ohio and the next, the centerpiece of a fierce campaign.

Frankly, I feel sorry for the man. I’m glad I am not him – not only because of the way he was dragged into the media spotlight, but also because of the repercussions of stardom. A little digging on the part of the press produced a few embarrassing facts. For example, he owes Uncle Sam a little tax money and isn’t actually a licensed plumber.

When first mentioned by John McCain in the third presidential debate, Wurzelbacher described the situation as “surreal” and, despite his clear dissatisfaction with Obama’s tax plan, stated to reporters that his vote was only for him and a button to know.

However, he quickly embraced representing middle America, whether accurately so or not. I think that Joe the plumber’s rise in politics is representative of this campaign as a whole. As he was swept into the campaign his viewpoints and statements drastically changed.

Despite the fact that since he spoke with Obama, it has been shown that Joe would actually be better off under Obama’s tax plan, he has dismissed the Democratic candidate, saying he didn’t support “government handouts for the less well-off.”

And now he is even considering his own run for Congress in 2010. He revealed his plan to conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham and confirmed the possibility of a campaign to Fox News. Ohio Republican leaders have been supportive of this possibility, saying they would welcome his challenge of Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur in her Toledo area seat.

What started as two candidates looking to alter the status quo and campaign respectfully has turned into one of the least civilized election races. Similar to Joe, who has become so enraptured in partisanship that he moved from refusing to tell the media which candidate he supported to potentially running for Congress, the continuance of the campaign has driven both Obama and McCain farther into polarity. As the end nears, both sides have consistently abandoned courtesy, regard and respectful politics.

I’m just looking forward to Nov. 5.