WTF Is Joe The Plumber?

Though later lost in an attempt at creating a mythical archetype along the lines of Joe Sixpack, McCain did mention at the beginning of the debate a certain Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, OH. Yes, the man does exist, and, as per usual, McCain greatly oversimplifies the situation (from MSNBC's First Read blog).

Joe Plumber, it turns out, is successful businessman who showed up at an Obama rally and engaged the Democratic candidate with a question. He is thinking about purchasing a small business that would, in the end, net him over $250k/year; he'll end up paying higher taxes, won't he?

What followed is a lengthy discussion where Obama explains his decision on raising taxes for that bracket, in a manner that's both engaging, understandable and populist. Paraphrasing: After talking about the fact that he himself belongs in that tax bracket , he says he doesn't mind paying higher taxes than a wage slave, because "I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."

This is what McCain and company have been jumping on since Sunday, the notion that if the lower classes is healthy, so will the upper classes.
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Not debate related, but something of an inspiring entry from Salon's Glenn Greenwald. No amount of encapsulation will do the piece justice, so here's a quote:

I honestly don't know of any "progressive bloggers" who blindly support Democrats. I think the strategy of the blogosphere has always been two-pronged -- (1) remove the hideous right-wing beast from power and (2) change the Democratic Party in order to make step (1) worth doing. Those are EQUALLY IMPORTANT goals.

Step (1) is merely a pre-requisite (an absolute one) to achieving anything worthwhile. But without step (2), step (1) is mostly (though not entirely) worthless, because the Democratic Party as currently constituted at its core is a wretched and status-quo-perpetuating institution.

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Also, from Monday, proof that whenever you add Jon Stewart and discussion of McCain campaign tactics, the result will always equal funny ouch: