The Final Presidential Debate: It’s All About Joe

By Bree Hocking

Congratulations Joe Wurzelbacher of Toledo, Ohio, you’ve just earned yourself an entry in the historical lexicon of the 2008 presidential campaign. Prepare to take your proud place next to “Lipstick on a Pig,” “Hockey Moms” and “Obama Girl.”

Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber” to viewers of Wednesday night’s final presidential debate, rocketed to his 15-minutes of fame after McCain singled him out as someone who felt Obama’s plan to raise taxes on those earning over $250,000 would hurt him, given that he was planning to buy the small business he’d worked for for the past 15 years. Earlier this week, Wurzelbacher met Obama on the hustings and expressed his displeasure with his tax plan, an encounter McCain was clearly eager to pounce on.

After McCain’s first mention of Joe and his plight, an otherwise flagging debate had found its leitmotif.

Just about every question, it seemed, from taxes to the economy to health care somehow circled back to “Joe the Plumber,” who, as the debate wore on, attained near mythic levels of Americana street cred. Indeed, in 90 minutes our heroic “every Joe” was mentioned over two dozen times. That has got to be some sort of presidential debate record.

Clearly Mr. Wurzelbacher represents a much sought-after demographic — the white, blue-collar voter, whose vote could be crucial in a number of key swing states — most of which Obama appears to be comfortably leading in, by the way.

Trailing badly in the polls, McCain needed to pull off an upset — an almost impossible task given his opponent’s reputation for unflappability and the seated, side-by-side format.

True to his word, McCain came out swinging, just like the people at his rallies had demanded. He talked about his pro-life values and his support of vouchers and Obama’s relationship to the former Weatherman Bill Ayers. He decried Obama’s links to ACORN, a group currently under investigation for voter fraud. He accused it of being ”on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.” McCain did everything his base could wish. He even attempted to portray himself as the victim in the racially charged rhetoric of recent weeks, demanding again that Obama repudiate John Lewis’ condemnations of the way some of the McCain/Palin rallies had been handled (where shouts of “kill him” and “terrorist,” referencing Obama, could be heard from the audience). He tirelessly mocked Obama’s “eloquence.”

But the problem for McCain remains essentially unchanged – the people who attend his rallies are already voting for him. He needed to win big with undecideds and independents, something that didn’t happen, according to CNN’s poll of debate watchers. Moreover, his demeanor was downright painful to watch. It alternated between a stiff, blinking almost robotic stare and a sort of arrogant hand in the cookie jar-style smirk. He made faces. He cackled dismissively. He loudly sucked air through his nose. Small wonder that McCain came up desperately short on the all-important “likeability” question, otherwise known as the “who would you rather have a beer with?” factor. Here, the deficit was staggering. According to CNN, 70 percent of viewers said Obama appeared most likeable, compared to 22 percent for McCain.

This is perhaps the most peculiar development of the 2008 presidential contest. Anyone who’s met McCain knows that in person he can be downright charming, almost infectiously so. Where is that McCain? His current campaign has all but obliterated his previous aura.

When the debate was over, some commentators were even invoking the final days of the 1996 Dole campaign. That’s one name McCain can’t be happy to hear with less than three weeks to go. But barring a massive “October Surprise” or the eruption of some seriously repressed anti-black prejudice in this country, that’s exactly where McCain’s headed.

For his part, Obama was far from perfect. He started out slow, and his language veered at times into the plodding and pedantic. And it’s a safe bet he probably didn’t intend to endorse the idea of presidents enforcing “unfair trade agreements.” (Meanwhile, McCain started to say he’d pick “the best people in the world” for his Supreme Court appointments. But he quickly corrected himself and added ”in the United States.”)

As for “Joe the Plumber,” did all the verbal jousting do anything to change his mind?

Reached for comment by just about every major news organization in America, the now world-famous plumber said he still thought Obama was wrong on taxes but declined to say who would get his vote.

“That’s for me and the button I push to know,” he told ABC News.