As Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly pointed out after this
week’s debate, there is little reason for the punditry to focus so
keenly on Joe Wurzelbacher, the plumber referenced at the debate who has
said he takes issue with Barack Obama’s tax plan. But because there are
nineteen days left till election day, Obama is up by seven points, and very little
has changed since the last debate, Joe is getting doted on by the media.
So, we’ll indulge the conversation of the moment, but defer to Benen’s
wise analysis of the storm over Toledo’s favorite almost-plumber:

During a campaign stop in Ohio this week, Ohio plumbing business owner
Sam Joe Wurzelbacher questioned Barack Obama about his plan to
increase taxes for the top five percent of income earners. Noting that
he was planning to purchase a company that “makes” between $250,000 and
$280,000, Wurzelbacher wondered what impact Obama’s tax plan would have
on him. […]

Jake Tapper reports that it’s not even clear if the figures Wurzelbacher
cited take expenses into account. If his net profit is below $250,000,
“Joe the Plumber” would be eligible for an Obama tax cut.

–Marissa Colón-Margolies

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