I had really, really hoped we were done talking about Joe the Plumber. Frankly, at this point, just that name is like nails on a chalkboard for me. The constant repetition, plus the silliness of this whole thing, is just too much to bear. Just my luck, though -- the McCain camp is continuing to use him in its messaging.
The campaign's latest ad doesn't actually show Joe himself, other than to replay his now-famous moment with Barack Obama. Instead, it has a several other people, all repeating one line: "I'm Joe the Plumber." The message is made clear by other people featured toward the end of the ad, who trade off lines to say, "I'm supposed to work harder just to pay more taxes. Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?" (This implication that Obama would raise taxes on most Americans has been repeatedly debunked.)
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