With Republicans nationalizing parts of the nation's biggest banks, said Nina Easton in Fortune online, John McCain can't really brand Barack Obama as a "Big Government Liberal." But Joe the Plumber might be able to pull it off. After McCain mentioned Joe Wurzelbacher repeatedly in the final presidential debate, the real-life handyman's objection to Obama's proposal to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 became the talk of the campaign.
Joe doesn't really lay a glove on Obama, said Marc Ambinder in The Atlantic online. If you look at the video (click for an AP clip via YouTube) of his exchange with the Democratic presidential nominee on the trail in Ohio, you'll see that Obama's statment about wanting to "spread the wealth" is merely an endorsement of our "progressive income tax"—not some secret socialist longing.
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