"Joe the Plumber" is another version of Phil Gramm's Dickie Flatt. Who was

[Mist]

largely fictional, IIRC.

[unpossibles]

1. no, he's a real person

but a bad example. He wants to buy a company worth that amount, but does it get that as profit?

[Mist]

2. Dickie Flatt was a real person, but Gramm never had those long conversations

he claimed to have had. I suspect the same is true of Joe. There was just a vibe that reminded me of Gramm's Dickie Flatt references, then I realized that Gramm is a McLame advisor. I think it's likely Gramm thought this would be an effective technique for McLame, though it seems it wasn't (according to early polling).

[unpossibles]

3. good point

and... I really hate to say this, but I wonder if this guy's "plumbing business" which just happens to make the magic number of profit is anything like the "military service" of the average freeper.

Seriously though... I wonder if I need to go back to school if this guy is for real.