Barack Obama explaining his tax plan to a plumbing business owner (AKA Joe the Plumber) on the street

Here's a good video from yesterday of Barack Obama explaining his tax policy to a small business owner that wants to know how the plan will affect the taxes he pays:



It's a good example of how fast Obama is on his feet with questions like these, and he seems to enjoy the sudden question as well. The business owner looks to be sincere in his question too and it's a good example of some of the best parts of a campaign, a candidate being able to talk one on one with regular people about things that matter to them most.


Edit: The debate's going on right now and both McCain and Obama are talking about this encounter. I thought it would stay mostly hidden with just a hundred thousand hits or so on the video, but looks like he's being made famous.

Edit 2: One hour into the debate and McCain's talking about "Joe the plumber" yet again! Wow, Joe the plumber is becoming the centrepiece of the third debate.

Edit 3: Joe again! I'd be curious to see a response after the debate from the actual Joe from the above video. It's like he's gotten his own business consultants for free.



Quote of the day from Andrew Sullivan just now: "Some readers seem to think my description of Obama as boring is meant as a criticism. Subjectively, maybe it doesn't give me a Lowry. But objectively, it's brilliant. The first black president will only get there by boring a lot of white people."


Edit 4: Joe the Plumber (Joe Wurzelbacher) has now been interviewed after the debate:


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