Joe the Plumber got plenty of mention in last night’s debate. But I wasn’t clear exactly what his situation was, and why Obama didn’t respond a little differently.
If Joe was in position to buy a business that made over $250k a year, why couldn’t Obama have simply said “Look buddy - you sould be happy you make more than a quarter mill a year. Your income is in the top 5%, and under my plan your taxes will go up 3%.” I’m not sure why that would bother anyone other than the other folk making $25k or more.
Or if the complaint was that Joe wanted to buy this business but couldn’t afford to, Obama could have said, "Well, it sounds like you can’t afford to buy what you want to buy - that’s the kind of thinking that contributed to this mess our economy is currently in."
Looking at the news, it seems like he makes way under $250k, his dreams of business ownership were nothin more substantial, and just disfavors progressive taxation. Not quite the sob story to make an effective cornerstone of your emotional plea, is it?