Via the Jerusalem Post: Joe the Plumber is here, and he ain’t happy
The people of Sderot “can’t do normal things day to day,” like get soap in their eyes in the shower, for fear a rocket might come in, Wurzelbacher said. “I’m sure they’re taking quick showers. I know I would.”He also wondered why Israel waited so long to act. “I know if I were a citizen here, I’d be damned upset.” He described himself as a “peaceloving man,” but added, “when someone hits me, I’m going to unload on the boy. And if the rest of the world doesn’t understand that, then I’m sorry.”
[...]
But in Sderot, he seemed just as intent on teaching a thing or two to the media. “Do you think this is normal, the way you cover this conflict and give away information to your enemy?” he asked the journalists that gathered around him.
“It makes me sick to see the way you behave - you guys need to be protective of your homes, your children, your family.”
“I am angry,” he said, “and this is why I came here.”
This really has to be one of the oddest episodes in recent politics and now in journalism (so to speak). It is made even stranger in that he seems to think that he is not only a reporter and commentator, but now is some sort of voice of moral authority based on nothing more than asking Obama a question and then having McCain say “Joe the Plumber” over and over at a debate.
And who knew that Kassams were shower-seeking rockets?
Setting aside the incredulity and sarcasm, the whole Joe the Plumber situation is rather remarkable and seems to represent a rather odd populist surge within portions of the center-right that also manifested in support for Sarah Palin. At a minimum, Joe clearly has his booster. For example, Scott Johnson at Powerline: “Is there any chance Pajamas can send Joe on to Beirut, Damascus and Tehran after he completes his assignment in Israel? I think he could teach the media reporting from those locales how to do it right as well” as well as DRJ guest-posting at Patterico’s Pontifications:
I know this drives liberals crazy — they think we’re rednecks. Maybe we are but I love this guy.
And here’s more from Joe:
I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer–and down soldiers. You know, American soldiers or Israeli soldiers.I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.
Watch the video here, if you find the transcript unbelievable:
The transcript (which I double-checked against the video) was from Think Progress.
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January 12th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Why has this ignorant buffoon been turned into a right-wing superstar, and (more importantly) why are the rest of us still paying attention? My vain hope is that he’s trying to win a Darwin award, but I doubt he’s getting close enough to the action to really be a contender.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Joe the Plumber’s popularity has lasted a lot longer than I expected it to. However, it does serve as a reminder that not every American is enthralled by the Obamessiah or his wonderfully effective colleagues in Congress.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Does Joe consider soap in his eyes part of a normal day? I don’t. Maybe he needs to adjust the plumbing in his shower back in Ohio.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Wow. It’s so funny, but it makes me so sad.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Max,
What does Joe the Plummer have to do with reminding us of people’s opinions of Obama? He won a small majority of the vote, and at this point his approval ratings are in the 70’s. This alone proves that there are millions of people who disapprove of him.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
You want funny, try Wolcott’s snarky take on him.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
People willing to look at these details don’t need reminding that not everybody thinks Obama is The Chosen One.
However, people who ignore those details have no way to explain Joe The Plumber’s unusually long 15 minutes of fame. That’s my point.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
You don’t think that the more obvious explanation is a guy desperate for attention coupled with an organization (PJM) looking for publicity?
And do you really think anyone is taking him (Joe, that is) seriously? And if they are, what do you think that means?