Pitching for the plumber vote

I was teaching a class last night and only caught part of the final debate between Obama and McCain. The most surreal thing was the obsession McCain has with “Joe the Plumber” as if he’s convinced that there’s a major pool of undecided voters he can swing his way if he only can show that he’s sympathetic to the plight of plumbers earning a mere $250,000 a year. As Timothy Egan observed:

Near the end of the debate, McCain was calling him “my good friend, Joe.” And then, in sarcasm, he said, “Hey, Joe, congratulations! You’re rich!” Huh?

“Huh?” indeed.

I’ve only had one recent experience with a plumber. A valve in the basement was stuck, meaning that only cold water was getting to the washing machine. One local plumber didn’t respond to repeated messages left on his answering machine. The other came, and charged over $300 for 15 minutes work. Afterwards I found I could buy the part he replaced on Amazon for three bucks. I think my plumber earns more than my doctor does, and his malpractice insurance is probably cheaper as well. I have a feeling there’s not too many undecided voters out there for whom the welfare of plumbers is the big issue in this election campaign. Good luck over the next two weeks, John.

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