Without a doubt, three of the most popular topics of tonight’s debate were former radical William Ayers and his slight association with Sen. Barack Obama; ACORN and likely voter fraud; and Joe Wurzelbacher aka “Joe the Plumber,” a man who confronted Obama at a rally earlier this week over his tax plan and who is now the darling of Sen. John McCain and Fox News.
Wurzelbacher is from Ohio and told Obama that his tax plan would keep him from buying the business that currently employs him. McCain cited that exchange (over and over again) when the candidates were asked to explain why their economic plans are better than their opponent’s. McCain said Obama’s plan would stop entrepreneurs from investing in new small businesses and keep existing ones from growing.
McCain also demanded to know the full extent of Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, a 1960s-era radical activist, and the Democrat’s ties with ACORN, a liberal group accused of violating federal law as it seeks to register voters.
McCain brought up Joe 21 times when criticizing Obama, according to CNN. It was Joe the Plumber this and Joe the Plumber that. Certainly, the concerns of Joe the Plumber and all Americans are very important, but it appeared that McCain’s plan to come out swinging fell flat. According to a CNN poll of viewers, Obama won the debate 51% to McCain’s 38%.
It appeared that Obama got so exasperated with the numerous Joe the Plumber references that he appeared to question Joe’s existence. Did McCain even talk to Joe?
McCain started out strong as he hammered Obama’s character and campaign positions on taxes and the economy at the debate. He sought to transform their final presidential debate into a launching pad for a political comeback.
Obama leads in the national polls and in surveys in many battleground states, according to the Associated Press, an advantage built in the weeks since the nation stumbled into the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.
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Deborah Creighton Skinner is the editorial director at BlackEnterprise.com.