Joe The Plumber And The Pony Tail Guy
The “Ponytail Guy” refers to Denton Walthall, who asked a question in the second presidential debate in 1992.
Those present were, Ross Perot, Bill Clinton and President Bush.Walthall was a domestic mediator who worked with children and he scolded President George H.W. Bush for running a mudslinging, character-based campaign against Bill Clinton in 1992.
Walthall said, “The focus of my work as a domestic mediator is meeting the needs of the children that I work with, by way of their parents, and not the wants of their parents. And I ask the three of you, how can we, as symbolically the children of the future president, expect the two of you, the three of you to meet our needs, the needs in housing and in crime and you name it. Could we cross our hearts; it sounds silly here, but could we make a commitment? You know, we’re not under oath at this point, but could you make a commitment to the citizens of the United States to meet our needs, and we have many, and not yours. Again, I have to repeat that, it’s a real need, I think, that we all have”.
Ross Perot said he’d take Walthall’s pledge, “no hedges, no ifs, ands and buts”. Governor Clinton argued with Perot about who was more authentic and less dependent on “spin doctors,” and noted that as governor, he’d “worked twelve years very hard on the real problems of real people. It depends on how you define it.President George H.W. Bush stammered his reply to Walthall, “… I mean I – I think, in general, let’s talk about these, let’s talk about these issues. let’s talk about the programs”.
Joe Wurzelbacher is a plumber that wanted to buy the company that he’s working for and when he got the chance to speak to Obama at a campaign appearance in Toledo last week he told Obama that his tax plan would prevent him from buying the business.
In the course of the following exchange Obama made the revelatory comment that he believed that “spreading the wealth around” would help everyone. And there it was: the crucial distinction between the Democrats who believe that the wealth created by individuals should be compulsorily redistributed, even if that means limiting the possibilities of creating more of it, and the Republicans who feel that it would be better left in the hands of the small business people who could then use it to expand their businesses and provide more employment.
It is possible that if that distinction were to permeate the consciousness of the U.S. electorate with real force and clarity, that McCain would win the election.
McCain brought it up on several occasions during last night’s debate and initiated the exchange by saying, “Joe wants to buy the business that he has been in for all of these years, worked 10, 12 hours a day. You were going to put him in a higher tax bracket which was going to increase his taxes, which was going to cause him not to be able to employ people, when Joe was trying to realize the American dream”, after which he looked across at Obama.
Obama was clearly flustered which is extremely rare for him and he answered, “Not only do 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000, but I also want to give them additional tax breaks, because they are the drivers of the economy. They produce the most jobs”.
McCain then looked directly into the television camera and said, “Joe, I want to tell you, I’ll not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for and I’ll keep your taxes low and I’ll provide available and affordable health care for you and your employees. And I will not stand for a tax increase on small business income”.
After the debate Wurzelbacher said that Obama’s reaction left him feeling uneasy.”I didn’t think much of it the first time I heard it” and added that he still thinks Obama’s plan would keep him from buying the business.
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