No, it's NOT the "gotcha" moment. I explained it numerous times, but you are either being deliberately obtuse or refuse to actually understand reason.

He was a sham, created by the REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT'S CAMPAIGN. McCain and Palin loved to trot him out and point to him as the middle class guy that Obama's small business tax policies were going to destroy, when he was not the owner of the small business and was never going to own that small business. His name was invoked numerous times during the final debate. The media didn't create him. The Republican campaign did.

BTW, Joe has managed to parlay those "15 minutes" into a run for office. He's running for Congress in Ohio's 9th on the Republican ticket.

Joe the Plumber was (is) a sham. Palin and then Rs milked him to the max. He got is 15 minutes and is still trying to milk it out by this run in Ohio.





TIS

But when you have Herman Cain campaign for you, you know you're not going anywhere.

Joe the Plumber was just a pawn in the righty-lefty bullshit. We're living in the age of reality television where people like Snooki and Company become set for life by virtue of, well, having no virtues. So you can hardly blame Joe for taking advantage of his fifteen minutes.

If I lived in Ohio, would I vote for him?

Of course not, but it's not his fault that the media turned him into an instant celebrity four years ago.

Hell, doesn't anyone remember the "rent-is-too-damned-high" guy?

They're both in the same boat: Instant celebrities who tried to cash in. In these economic times, you can hardly blame them.

Remember the late, great Pat Paulsen and his presidential campaigns?

In his deadpan tones he told us, "I have a sound plan to eliminate street crime in the country. I'm getting rid of the streets."

He also said that all of America's problems can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy...of the American Indian.

He also said he opposed the right to bear arms, but supported the right to arm bears.

Yes, Paulsen was a master of the deadpan statement.

But I have some sympathy for Joe since I don't think he realizes that he is a pawn.

That's exactly how I feel.

People who still talk about Joe The Plumber are the leftist version of conservatives who still talk about Rev Wright or Obama's birth certificate.

The lesson I learned is that licensed plumbers like to subcontract work to non-licensed "plumbers".

Since he's the Republican nominee for a seat in Congress in this year's election, I think there's an obligation to discuss him. He has to run on his background, and his political background is primarily, if not solely, his role as the character Joe the Plumber.

If Fox says it's so, it's so:

Mitt Romney has had a tough couple of weeks on the campaign trail -- and it shows in the latest Fox News poll. After a barrage of campaign ads, negative news coverage of his overseas trip and ongoing talk about his tax returns, Romney’s favorable rating and standing in the trial ballot have declined. As a result, President Obama has opened his biggest lead since Romney became the presumptive Republican nominee.

The president would take 49 percent of the vote compared to Romney's 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup if the election were held today, the poll found. Last month, Obama had a four percentage-point edge of 45 percent to 41 percent. This marks the second time this year the president has had a lead outside the poll’s margin of sampling error.

Obama’s advantage comes largely from increased support among independents, who now pick him over Romney by 11 percentage points. Some 30 percent of independents are undecided. Last month, Obama had a four-point edge among independents, while Romney had the advantage from April through early June.

I have a good friend who is quite active in Republican politics. He said that, unfortunately, nobody can get excited over Romney.

Pat Paulsen was unique and original. I think we need him now more than ever, and it appears I'm not the only one who thinks so - check out this Facebook page:

Pat Paulsen For President 2012

I'm tempted to say, "He's got my vote!"

Signor V.

Apparently, Paul Ryan is Romney's choice as running mate.

This is an interesting choice since Ryan will solidify the Republican base, but I don't see him attracting others. His budget austerity proposals will be a target for Democrats.

I almost fell over laughing when Mitt Romney introduced Ryan as the next POTUS, the same thing that the Republicans skewered Obama for doing four years ago when he introduced Biden. As Romney said, mistakes happen.

Ryan seems like a solid guy. However, I don't know enough about him to make judgment. He sure is photogenic and so is his family.

Looks like a solid---if a bit surprising---choice. By picking a guy so similar to himself, Romney has made the election about ideology rather than a referendum on President Obama's mediocre first term.

Call me crazy, but as blah and unlikable as Romney seems to be, I still think it's going to come down to the October jobs report and the price of gas. Maybe I'm just a simple Bronx guy, but that's what I'm hearing from people on the fence and out in the street.

I think Mitt's base really really wanted Ryan and they will be happy. However, from what I have read/heard about Ryan's Medicare reform (voucher) plan, I think the President's team can and will make that a real issue and it's an issue than people take very seriously.

I can't help but sense that Mitt is easily swayed to do whatever the far right want him to do. Or maybe it's him, hesitating to take a CLEAR stand on any one issue. He's really different than I thought he'd be.

TIS

Both your's TIS and PB's are solid observations. As several pundits have said, Romney's choice of Ryan reinforces the contrast that the Republicans want to make between themselves and Democrats. However, I think that Ryan's budget plans will seem too austere for most people. He's goign to talk about social security's and medicare's future. But older voters will interpret that as threatening their social security and medicare. It won't fly.

In choosing Ryan, Romney went with the anti-Palin pick. Ryan is bright, articulate and is pretty much the architect of the party's platform on budgetary matters. Also, I'd be surprised if there was any dirt on him.

I think it is a good choice for Romney in that it more clearly defines his candidacy by focusing on the economy and government spending. Also, Romney's been a moderate, whose healthcare plan in Massachusetts is essentially the same as the President's. His views on social issues have seemed to be based on whatever is politically beneficial. So, the conservative Ryan will provide greater ideological separation between the campaigns.

Every VP choice offers advantages and disadvantages. I think an additional benefit of Ryan would be swinging Wisconsin from red to blue.

The disadvantages would be that the selection does nothing to close the gap between women voters, who are leaning heavily towards Obama, and as olivant pointed out, the elderly will be concerned about Ryan's views on social security and medicare. This will be watched closely in Florida. Also, Ryan has no foreign policy experience, and Romney's recent trips have raised questions about his diplomacy.

Also, I think the Democrats will try to capitalize on America's dissatisfaction with the present do-nothing Congress by painting him as one of the key figures of conressional paralysis.

I thought he would pick Portman, but I'm never good at predicting VP choices.

I see it solidifying the base for Romney but I think it wil hurt him with undecideds and elderly.

The following is a headline from Fox News website:

"Wisconsin congressman, in first appearance as part of Mitt Romney's GOP presidential ticket, accuses Obama of failing to fix the economy and fiscal mess ..."

When did it happen that we Americans need a President to fix the economy? How did it happen that we want the President to fix things as if we are 5 year olds with a broken tricycle? It's embarrassing.

The Dems wasted no time with two great response ads.





Ok, whoever is singing does not have a voice but the ad is still great I think.





TIS

Pretty good ads. The "That's Amore" one is pretty amusing. I really don't know much about Ryan at all, except that his dad died when he was a teenager and that this somehow makes him more capable to be VP.

TIS, those ads are great! LOL, the guy's voice singing in the second one sounds very funny.

Tonight Charles Krauthammer said that he didn't think Ryan's selection would affect the race very much, but that it would have a long-term effect upon the Republican Party. Quite a statement coming from a die-hard conservative.

Here's five things most people dont know about Paul Ryan:

1. His budget plans include big cuts, and there's ample room for Democrats to continue with their "Romneyhood narrative." The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates 62 percent of Ryan's cuts are to programs for the poor.

2. Ryan's budget proposals have included big changes to Medicare - including gradually replacing the program with a voucher program for private health care, and gradually raising the retirement age. That could scare older Americans, a crucial voting bloc.

3. He voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. While a lot of other Republicans did too, and it was proposed by the Bush administration, some have viewed it as a rejection of the conservative economic values Ryan and hard-line fiscal conservatives espouse.

4. He's easily pegged as Washington insider. He's been in Congress since 1999, and before that he worked as a congressional staffer. Congressional approval ratings are abysmally low- a recent CBS News/NY Times poll showed that only 12 percent of voters approve of the way Congress is doing its job.

5. This is both a pro and a con to Ryan, depending on who you ask, but he's notably further to the left on the issue of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender rights than the base of the party. He broke with a lot of his party to support the Employee Non-Discrimination Act in 2007. He explained his reasoning for the vote in this way: "They [his gay friends] didn't roll out of bed one morning and choose to be gay. That's who they are."

http://news.yahoo.com/5-things-mitt-doesnt-want-know-paul-ryan-162758609.html

I just read that Congressman Ryan's only other job was driving the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. He was also voted "Biggest Brown-noser" of his high school graduating class. I find these two things strangely adorkable.

His critics say he has no executive experience and no foreign policy experience, the same criticism leveled at President Obama. I'm not sure what to think of this guy.

Babe, I heard Chris Matthews say he brings a biography to the campaign that Romney doesn't. He comes from a modest background, has a modest lifestyle, lost his father at an early age, he's Catholic, and he has a definitive plan for stimulating the economy and addressing the national debt.

By Comparison, Joe Biden lost his first wife years ago when his children were very young. He later married Jill who has actually been their mother all these years. Like Ryan, Biden is also Catholic I believe.



TIS

"He'll pay Less, You'll Pay More"

That's actually a good bumper sticker.

Reading this reminds me of my school teachers..