Blame McCain for ‘Joe’

Re “Joe the (belittled) Plumber,” Opinion, Oct. 21

How is it that Jonah the Intentionally Obtuse Columnist can pretend to miss the point about Joe the Unlicensed Tax Dodger? Jonah Goldberg says that the media “attacked and belittled a citizen who asked a candidate a question,” referring to Joe Wurzelbacher’s exchange with Barack Obama on tax policy. The media focused on Wurzelbacher only after John McCain, not Obama, plucked him from obscurity.

Goldberg seems extremely touchy about the media discovering that Joe is a tax delinquent and not a licensed plumber, has no real plans to buy a business and is actually named Sam. The liberal elite media had the temerity to point out that whether he continues to work as a plumber or buys his business, Joe, like most of us, will make less than $250,000 and will therefore benefit from Obama’s tax plan. Anybody who is still flogging this story at this late date should at least acknowledge that.

Rick Krizman

Santa Monica

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Obama is not against hard work. But striving to fulfill the American dream cannot be accomplished when the deck is stacked. Chief executives who rip off their companies take away the money from those who really do the work. Spreading the wealth does not mean giving it away; it means giving “Joe” the right to earn it. Allowing the wealth to accumulate in the hands of a few by letting them steal it makes it that much more difficult for those stuck in the middle or at the bottom to get ahead.

The real Joe is behind on his taxes, is without a plumbing license and apparently could not come close to buying the business. His question to Obama was meant to make the candidate look bad. Sorry, Mr. Goldberg, it backfired.

Leonard A. Zivitz

Fullerton