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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



McCain finally finds his plumber

Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2008 5:22 PM by Domenico Montanaro

Joe the Plumber says McCain is 'real American'

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
ELYRIA, Ohio -- After looking for him to no avail at his Ohio bus tour stop this morning, McCain found Joe the Plumber in Sandusky this afternoon and then brought him along to Lorain Community College as well. Although both the candidate and his new traveling companion made mostly the same remarks at each stop, Joe added one key line.

“Get out there and vote; it’s very important,” Joe said, after extolling the virtues of being well informed. “You get out here and get the American people back in charge of our government. Hold politicians' feet to the fire when they mess up. That’s what we’re out here to do. All right? Smaller government, you know? As far as everyone else here, well, that’s the question and go ask them to vote for a real American, John McCain.”

At the first stop, Joe had simply encouraged the crowd to vote without telling them to support McCain. But before a much smaller crowd at the college, Joe was a bit more specific.

During his introduction, McCain also had many a kind word for Joe, who has become something of a mascot for his campaign. 

“So my friends, all the efforts we made in trying to make sure Americans understood that Sen. Obama wants to raise your taxes and he wants to increase your spending by $1 trillion, was the man who spoke for small businesses all over America Joe the Plumber,” McCain said.

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Comments

Extolling the virtues of being well informed?  Yeah, right.  Joe the fake plumber is one of the least informed voters in America (see Israel comment yesterday).
Senator Barack Obama is as much a real American as any American, and at least as much as Senator John McCain.

Shame on "Joe" the plumber for his racist implication that Obama is not a real American.

Shame on John McCain for not repudiating, denouncing, and rejecting the racist hate-mongering with which his campaign is fueled.
How can Joe the Plumber speak for all small businesses when he doesn't even own one, never had the prosects of owning one and is just a mouth piece for McCain stupidity.  This guy more than anyone or anything else truly shows who McCain is and he is not ready to be president!!!!
Mascot???  

OMG LMAOROTF!!!!!!!!
Bwahahahahahahah...  What a complete joke this campaign, along with it's supporters are.  The so-called "Joe" is Schmo/liar/tax evader, and you McFailin supporters think HE is the definition of AMERICA???   You guys are sooo transparent.  We know exactly what you all are about, your agenda... and it has nothing to do with the advancement of our great country.

OBAMA/BIDEN, 2008!
What I want to know is why is Biden shutting up?

Too many cooks spoil the broth, especially when you have a major mis-speaking machine named Joe.
Joe the Plumber has more common sense in his butt then Obama/Bdien have in their entire bodies. Nice of Obama to sic his little minions on Joe's personal records in Ohio too. Trying to dig up dirt on people that disagree with you Obama? Typical fascist move.
God Help Us....

Is this for real...??? Sounds like TMZ to me.

So Obama isn't a real American?  Hawaii isn't in America?  Is Alaska?   Is NY?  Is CA?   Or is only OH, and other "red" states?   I thought the civil was over and the north won, guess not.
I like this web site. It's real balanced. All articles about Obama are positive. All articles about McCain are negative. That's called 'Unbiased' in the news world.
God Help Us....

Is this for real...??? Sounds like TMZ to me.

Joe is definitly the best mascot for this campaign. A guy with the IQ of a flea that lies like a rat.

He's promoting a guy who will not lower his taxes and against one that will.  Joe, who are the exact type of voter that the GOP loves.  
Im so sick and tired of the republicans saying that Mccain is running an honorable campaign! Joe the Pipe fixer just said that Obama is less of an american than Mccain is! My god people, get a freakin grip. I cant wait for this to be over so i can just say we wont and you didnt! And yes i already voted so i can now start saying i think we are going to win, im also talking with anyone that will listen about voting for Obama!
Oh my. Another palin.
Mccain you are desperate!!
Hey, Joe the Dumber shows up!
The guy that opposed Social Security, the unlicensed plumber, the guy making about $50k/year, lying about his business plans, and what that business makes?
The guy who's so thick he can't understand he would still get more of a tax break with Obama?

He's the guy telling voters to get informed? ha, that's a good one!

VETERANS FOR OBAMA!
McCain will need an interior decorator come Wednesday. He'll be picking out drapes for the oval office.
Please explain to me the reason McCain is using this guy at his rallies.  He do not sound very intelligent.
Obama will win with 291, 306, 326 or 353 electoral votes. You can take it to a safe bank.  
This is becoming such a joke, Joe the Plumber is obviously using the campaign to fulfill his American dream.  A country singer? A congressman? A writer?  A LIAR and A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is this a joke!
yeah, while McCain wants to cut the 0.25% tax rate of Exxon when they are making record profits.  ($14 billion in profits, $35 million in taxes coming out to under 0.25% tax rate)
not to mention that the national debt isn't $10 trillion, but in actuality it is up to $55 trillion but 45 of it is off the books in afghanistan and Iraq.  but cutting taxes on Oil corporations is the way to stimulate the economy and help us out.  

i'm enraged that these lying wealth sycophants continue to be allowed to speak their filth.  The only true threat to Democracy is corruption in elected officials.

i think congress should pass campaign renovation where any politician in a campaign who deliberately and repeatedly lies about or smears their opponent on the stump should be disqualified from the race.  then we wouldn't have to listen to this BS all the time.
any elected official convicted of ethics violations or corruption should be executed as a traitor to the american people.

That would stop them from selling the people out real quick...

http://horneddevil.proboards98.com/index.cgi?board=iduspolitics&action=display&thread=53
"No show Joe" back on stage w/the Repubs (after earlier "miscommunication)...McCain are you that desperate?
I am sick of Joe the Plumber. I think it is scary he is answering questions about foreign policy and it makes John McCain look bad for having him up there. Joe doesn't know what is good for him .... Obama's tax plan looks better for him.
Joe you should get a 2nd job to PAY YOUR BACK TAXES YOU FAKE. Also, work on that plumbing license you PHONEY.
Joe the (unlicensed) plumber lied to Barack Obama that he was "getting ready" to buy a business that would give him $250K income so he could whine about Obama's tax plans. But the truth is that Joe had no intention of buying the business, could not afford it at the salary he makes, and the business only generated $100K income.  

So I guess it's appropriate that McCain has adopted this liar as a mascot, since his campaign has been based on lies from the start.
Here we go---Apparently, Joe the Idiot doesn't believe Obama is a "real American". Perhaps he missed the news that Hawaii is a State. Someone [preferably the media] has got to call out this guy and expose him for good. They won't tho---They're terrified the McCain people will whine about "fairness". Bunch of wimps.
LOL...I now remember why I don't like the 'Drive-By media'.  
So what exactly is a "real" American? Someone who is too stupid to get a plumber's license, or to understand a tax break would help him or to forget to pay his taxes? This guy is a whack job, like Palin. i can't wait until these bozos lose so we can get this guy out of the media.
“Get out there and vote; it’s very important,” Joe said, after extolling the virtues of being well informed. “

Joe the "not so bright" plumber, who Shepperd Smith (of Fox!) called out for agreed with some idiot at a McCain event that electing Obama would mean the death to Israel. Mr.  well informed Joe couldn't answer, and said people should research why Joe agreed with the other guy. Joe's a joke!
who is this stinky junk Joe the As...h.le
I think he is a gay and McCain wants him in his bus :-) Onething for sure..he's an idoit of great proportions and mad plumber
This is desperate. Why on earth is the McCain campaign practically worshiping an inarticulate and ill-informed fool like this plumber? Worst of all, he's decided that he is now qualified to offer his insight into international affairs. It makes me want to cry. I wish he'd crawl back under the rock the McCain campaign found him under
What's the controversy here? Does anyone doubt that McCain is a real american and that Obama wants to raise taxes on some real Americans?

http://sarahin2012.com
Did Joe bring the two-headed calf?

How did Joe America's music contract negotiations go? I can't wait to see him wail on a P-trap.
im glad mccain has a new friend at least his campaign accomplished something; hes met someone who agrees with his out of touch not so mainstream views to parade around the country after he loses tuesday maybe joe will give a spot in his country band.
Any word on what his wardrode is costing the RNC?
Give me a break!!
This guy is streching his 15 minutes as far as they'll go. i wonder how much the RNC paid him. I hope his counrty album is better than his understanding of Policy.
His real name is Samuel. He's not a plumber. He hasn't paid his taxes. He's a registered Republican and a plant and obviously someone is paying him to appear at all these events. I call the whole thing Sam the Sham Sells a Scam.
Joe’s plumbing days are numbered! What’s next for this copper tubing wizard? Could be a run for the White House in 2012 or a desolate life of sex, drugs and TV fame? His appeal has already gone over 15 minutes.
So even when not at work a "plumber" still works with crap!
It really seems amazing that Joe W. became the symbol for John McCain's campaign.  Just about everything he said in the prelude of his question to Obama was a lie.  He was NOT purchasing his boss's business and has no plans to do so, he does NOT have a plumbing license, if he did buy the business it does NOT bring in over $250,000/yr . . . etc, etc.  

Joe the Plumber is a symbol - but the actual person it is based on, Joe W., was a liar.  

I guess that's the perfect person for John McCain to use as his symbol.  Hey Americans, aren't you tired of being looked in the face - and lied to.
Nice to know that we Obama supporters and our candidate are not "real Americans."  This is divisive and just ugly nonsense.  
This Joe the Plumber tour has become a mockery...I wonder how "real" members of the GOP view this? It sort of reminds me of the musicians playing while the Titanic is sinking. Come on folks...is this really working for him?

Deep down inside I think McCain really wants to loose.
This "Joe the Plumber" meme just shows how there is no "liberal bias" to the MSM.  Who is this joker that the broadcasters fall all over themselves to promote?  Aren't there intelligent people who have incisive comments?  Aren't there real issues?  I seem to remember there were a large number of Nobel laureats who made an endorsement of the candidate best for science.  Why aren't they being covered?  Could it be because they endorsed Obama?  The fact is that if McCain ran a campaign even slightly competent the MSM would be his bullhorn.  The fact is that even the MSM is (barely) intelligent enough (Fox of course excepted) not to be a megaphone for his "socialist" nonsense.  But that, my friends, is all McCain and the collection of caricatures he collects as VPs or mascots, has got.
I'm not a real American myself then since I voted for Obama.
One thing this election has shown me, is that racism is alive and well, at least here in Idaho. I am shocked by the amount of my neighbors and friends, in my area, that are not voting for Obama because of race. They use many reasons at first, like "theres just something about him", "he's a muslim, you know", and of course "he's going to raise taxes". But when you speak to them, they almost all will admit it's really about race, many coming right out with the "N" word. I had thought that sort of thinking was a thing of the past. I am sickened by this mindset.
Old man yells at cloud.
This just in: Joe the Plumber attacked by scary black man who robbed him, turned him gay and burned a "B" in his cheek.

High-pitched and ridiculously self-righteous right wing squealing to follow before facts establish it as a fraud.
McCain is a real American? What does that mean? Is Obama a fake American? Perhaps the most annoying things the republicans do is claim to be real americans, patriots, and put their country first. It is divisive and goes against what American has always stood for. Which is the freedom of speech and expression, and a willingness to experiment and reinvent itself to keep moving forward. If we had always thought conservatively like republicans, there would be no America because we would have been patriots to England!

Everything I've heard about Joe the Plumber says his income is well into the tax cut's proposed by Obama, so why does he keep talking like McCain would be better for his tax situation?

McCain wants to spend even more than Obama, plus he wants to give tax cuts to everyone - even the super rich and huge corporations that do most of their manufacturing outside of the US.

I'll take Obama thank you!
MCBUSH, "JOE THE REPUB HOE" DOESN'T OWN A SMALL BUSINESS NOR DOES HE PLAN ON BUYING A SMALL BUSINESS ANYTIME SOON. BUT HERE'S THE THING MCBUSH, WHEN THE CAMPAIGNING IS DONE AND OBAMA BECOMES PRESIDENT HE'LL BE SITTING BACK ENJOYING HIS TAX CUTS WHILE YOU AND CINDY ARE FORKING IT OVER. HA!

MY QUESTION TO MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS VOTING FOR MCBUSH-IT: WHY ARE YOU CALLING OBAMA A SOCIALIST WHEN HE'S TRYING TO PUT MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET? THINK ABOUT IT. MCCAIN WANTS TO CONTINUE THE SAME TAX CUTS AND DEREGULATION ON WALL STREET THAT PUTS US IN THE VERY CREDIT CRISIS WE'RE IN AND LEAVES MANY MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS JOBLESS AND HOMELESS DUE TO FORECLOSURE.

YOU IDIOTS, VOTE OBAMA!
What an absurd symbiotic relationship they have. I just can't decide which one's the parasite and which is the host. McCain, you are more asinine every day.


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