Obama must answer Joe the Plumber and do an about face on taxes

October 20th, 2008 at 10:42pm Chuck Sweeny

As the presidential campaign enters its final two weeks, I see a looming problem for Barack Obama — Joe the Plumber. When Obama told plumbing business worker Joe Wurzelbacher of Toledo that he was “going to spread the wealth around,” it was the gift that keeps on giving for John McCain and Sarah Palin. “Joe” said he worries that Obama will raise taxes, and  Republicans love to campaign against “tax-raising Democrats.” Obama says he’ll raise taxes on people with incomes of $250,000 or more, including small businesses known as S-corps– the kind of business “Joe” wants to buy.

So, all the pundits and pollsters who say Obama has the election won should step back a moment and watch the next few days. The McCain campaign has seized on the Obama line, and the Joe the Plumber character, and is basing the last two weeks of the campaign on it.

See the McCain plea from an e-mail I received. They’re aiming to recruit Fred the Fix-It guy, Bill the Electrician, Rosie the Riveter, all the hard working people of America, as their poster children.

Of course, none of these people make $250,000 or anywhere near it, but no matter. The message is that Obama will raise your taxes but McCain-Palin won’t. (Obama says he’ll cut taxes on the  95 percent of Americans who don’t make $250,000.)

In the middle of what could be a final shift in the campaign, Obama is taking Thursday and Friday off — a lifetime in a presidential campaign — and going to Hawaii to be by his failing grandmother’s side.  However, if he did not go to Hawaii he would be labeled cold, uncaring and downright mean to the woman who helped raise him.

Obama is ahead, but not that far ahead. He could easily blow his lead if his campaign does not answer McCain’s “raise your taxes” charge. Obama should be offering tax cuts to small business, not tax increases on those who get too successful.

Obama should go on Meet the Press on Sunday and announce a modification of  his tax plan, calling it an emergency economic stimulus package — tax incentives for small businesses, which create 80 percent of new jobs, coupled with reductions in business taxes to make American jobs more competitive.

He won’t do it, of course, but he should. He might lose if he doesn’t. To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the Plumber, stupid.”

Entry Filed under: Obama and taxes