Last night I fell asleep about half an hour in to the last presidential nominee debate. I had the best of intentions, but I lay down on the family room couch. And whenever I lie down anywhere sleep claims me. I woke in time to shuffle off to bed, the debate and the diagnosis long over.
So today I’ve been scurrying about, gathering tidbits here and sound bites there. Learning that it was the nastiest of debates to date, and that each reiterated his position over and over. McCain questioned Obama’s experience while Obama tried to link McCain to Bush’s policies.
And then there was Joe the Plumber, the reincarnation of Joe Six-Pack. Joe wanted to know if it was true that he would be taxed more under Obama’s plan if the business he planned to purchase made over $250 thousand dollars. Originally he asked Obama that question on the campaign trail. But somehow his concern ended up on the national debate, and both candidates tried to reassure him. Because of this, pundits are saying he was the real winner in last night’s debate.
Maybe so. However, today’s blogs were filled with more details about Joe: that he is not a plumber but an apprentice, that he owes back taxes, that he has a brother who lives in Wasilla, Alaska. I don’t know if any or all of this true but it does make me think that much of the presidential campaigns, on both sides, is smoke and mirrors.
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