Just a regular Joe
October 16th, 2008 by Jon Clements 
Coming out from under your boiler or out of a blocked drain, it’s plumbers’ turn to have their time in the sunshine: the US presidential race, no less.
”Joe the Plumber”, the ultimate American regular guy, who got face to face with Barack Obama over his tax plans was purloined by John McCain and his campaign team as the exemplar of those whose American dream would turn nasty if Obama ever makes it to the Oval office.
So powerful did McCain’s team consider the plumber, his name came up 25 times during the final presidential debate.
But while hanging his hat on Joe, I wonder if McCain knew that the plumbers’ union had already pledged its backing for Obama, way back in January this year?
Maybe he did, but the lure of using the plumbing “everyman” and unlikely media star to bash Obama was too much to resist. So, was it a clever tactic or desperation?
McCain wants to associate himself with and show that he’s batting for the regular Joe. It reminds me of former UK prime minister, John Major, who in the early 90s evoked a British image of “cricket grounds, warm beer and invincible suburbs” and “old maids cycling to holy communion through the morning mist” along with his moralistic “back-to-basics” campaign to tap into the mindset of Middle England.
A few Tory party scandals later and he was out on his ear.
Tags: , Back to Basics, Joe the Plumber, John Major, McCain, obama, Presidential debate
