# Is it silly to attack Joe the Plumber for being named Sam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 26, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654 "2008-10-26T17:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jesus\_Harold\_Christ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@Jesus\_Harold\_Christ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesus_Harold_Christ)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/1 "2008-10-26T17:47:27Z")
My father has always gone by his middle name. So did Calvin Coolidge (ever hear him called John). Same thing for Woodrow Wilson (Thomas). With many good reasons for attacking Joe, should this one be dropped? ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/2 "2008-10-26T18:16:44Z")
Joe the Plumber is worried about paying more taxes on his business which makes more than $250,000. As it turns out, the business doesn’t make $250,000, he doesn’t pay his taxes anyway, he’s not a plumber, and his names not Joe. Only reason to bring it up is it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/3 "2008-10-26T18:39:15Z")
It is silly, in that it is a minor nit, but when combined with larger nits, adds to the effect. My dad, BTW, also went by his middle name. Always knew it was a telemarketer when they asked for him by his first name. Nobody who actually knew him well enough to call him by his first name, not even his own mother, ever used it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/4 "2008-10-26T18:45:51Z")
Depends. Does he usually go by Joe? If not, then it’s not so silly to add that to the list of fabrications. If he does go by Joe, then it’s silly. Which one is it? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/5 "2008-10-26T18:56:41Z")
no, many people go by names other than the one on the birth certificate or the order of the birth certificate. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/6 "2008-10-26T19:11:24Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > no, many people go by names other than the one on the birth certificate or the order of the birth certificate. A very Southern thing. At least it seems to be really common here in Mississippi. It seems about half the guys I know go by their middle names. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/7 "2008-10-26T19:15:25Z")
Very silly. The guy’s a cipher. Why waste energy attacking him at all? Let his 15 minutes fade. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/8 "2008-10-26T20:56:02Z")
Post deleted because it was dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/9 "2008-10-27T01:49:54Z")
It would be silly if that were the whole of the attack. But, as parthenokinesis pointed out, it was mentioned more as a punchline to the fact that pretty much everything he said was a lie … including his name. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/10 "2008-10-27T02:39:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It would be silly if that were the whole of the attack. But, as parthenokinesis pointed out, it was mentioned more as a punchline to the fact that pretty much everything he said was a lie … including his name. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/11 "2008-10-27T02:42:45Z")
It is a bit like worrying about whether the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy believe in each other. Except, of course, that it has Political Football status, and carries the Cachet of Low Comedy along with it. So, to answer the OP, yes, it is silly to attack Joe the Plumber for being named Sam. And to go a step further, it is equally silly to bring him up in any way at all. I say this at the risk of offending all the real and hardworking Americans everywhere, the plumbers, the drivers, the cashiers, the masons, and so forth. All the ones bring down a quarter mil, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/12 "2008-10-27T05:15:22Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > My dad, BTW, also went by his middle name. Always knew it was a telemarketer when they asked for him by his first name. Nobody who actually knew him well enough to call him by his first name, not even his own mother, ever used it. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/13 "2008-10-27T06:40:42Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > Joe the Plumber is worried about paying more taxes on his business which makes more than $250,000. > > As it turns out, the business doesn’t make $250,000, > he doesn’t pay his taxes anyway, > he’s not a plumber, > and his names not Joe. > > Only reason to bring it up is it’s funny. Plus, he is an employee and doesn’t own the shop, and he doesn’t have the money to buy the business, so the whole tax question is a moot point for him at this time anyway. Additionally, news reports say he had donated $100 to the McCain campaign prior to this heartfelt conversation with Obama, leading me to think the whole thing was a pile of hokum from the getgo. Perhaps he should be known better as Joe Foot In His Mouth. But it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things - the only person who still seems to think Joe The Plumber is relevant to anything is John McCain. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/14 "2008-10-27T15:07:19Z")
Agreed to all of the above. He’s a registered Republican who couldn’t even be troubled to pay all of his Ohio taxes; we should be surprised he objects to Obama’s tax plan? And now he says he might run for Congress in two years… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/15 "2008-10-27T15:16:24Z")
Joe the plumber. Joe six pack. Maverick. My friends. My new list of most hated words/sentences. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/16 "2008-10-27T15:36:54Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Joe the plumber. > Joe six pack. > Maverick. > My friends. > > My new list of most hated words/sentences. You betcha! Also. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/17 "2008-10-27T15:41:40Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > It is silly, in that it is a minor nit, but when combined with larger nits, adds to the effect. But if he actually DOES go by Joe in day-to-day life, it’s dishonest to use this as part of “the effect.” Going by your middle name it not lying in any sense of the word. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-silly-to-attack-joe-the-plumber-for-being-named-sam/469654/18 "2008-10-28T03:18:07Z")
Joe six leak is a joke. He should get no attention at all. He lies . He is a republican. Wait, didn’t I just say that.