Hard as it is to imagine that they could find a more hollow way to indulge their Romance of the Common Man than the vice presidential nomination of Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign seems eager to keep their gimmick du jour, Joe the Plumber (née Wurzelbacher), center stage as long as possible.
Politico's Jonathan Martin:
“I'm probably going to call him this morning," McCain said. "I thought
he would probably be up late. I heard that his — that his phone lines
were pretty well flooded. But I think we're going to be spending some
time together.”
More:
Amie Parnes reports from a McCain rally in Downington, Pa:
“The real winner last night was Joe the Plumber,” McCain said, laughing. “Joe’s the man.”
“Joe! Joe! Joe!,” the crowd chanted.
Do not expect this ardor to be dampened by the facts that Wurzelbacher is not an independent, makes nowhere near the $250,000 that prompted his question to Obama, and is not, in fact, a licensed plumber.
--Christopher Orr