McCain's "Joe the Plumber” tour rallies Florida supporters

ORMOND BEACH -- With the smell of sawdust in the air and planks of wood stacked around him, Republican presidential candidate John McCain hammered his tax cut promises and his opponent's encounter with ''Joe the Plumber,'' referencing the now famous ''spread the wealth'' remark more than half a dozen times at a morning lumberyard rally. McCain's rally at Allstar Building Materials in Ormond Beach was the first leg of McCain's ''Joe the Plumber'' bus tour, named for Ohio plumber Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher, who was catapulted onto the national stage following the last presidential debate when McCain used an encounter between Wurzelbacher and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to blast the Democratic ticket's tax plan.

The Obama campaign has said McCain is distorting his tax plan, and the candidate has repeatedly said that anyone making under $250,000 a year would get a cut under his plan. But Obama's off-the-cuff ''spread the wealth'' comment has become one that the McCain campaign is unwilling to let slide. 'He told Joe the Plumber in Ohio that he wants to `spread the wealth,' '' McCain said to a chorus of boos. ``He believes in redistributing wealth, not growing job opportunities for everyone. He's more interested in determining who gets your piece of the pie than he is in growing the pie.''

Despite the repeated shout-outs, America's most-famous handyman was nowhere to be found at the first leg of the bus tour, which continues across the state with a second rally in Sarasota Thursday afternoon. Instead, McCain was introduced by Gov. Charlie Crist and ''Tom the Lumberyard owner,'' Tom Crowe, who owns Allstar Building Materials. ''We've all been affected by the Wall Street and banking industry greed of the past year,'' Tom said as children perched on planks of wood hoisted McCain signs and craned their necks to get a better look. `It is not new news. But it has been bad news for me. I've closed an Allstar Building Materials location in Jacksonville, and I've laid off 130 employees in the past year.''

McCain's tactic appears to be working. - - A Mason-Dixon poll released Wednesday found McCain has reversed his slide in Florida to lead Obama by one percentage point (Latest Quinnipiac Poll: Obama +5; RCP Average: Obama +1 - TAB). And it's the third survey since McCain's repeated use of Joe's name in the last presidential debate to show that Obama's lead in Florida since late September has vanished. ''There's a Joe-the-Plumber effect to the degree that McCain finally found some sort of economic message that people can relate to -- taxes,'' said Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker, adding that taxes ''are a big, big deal'' in a state where residents won't stand for an income tax and can't stand high property taxes.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows McCain narrowing the gap with Obama in Florida, but fading in the battleground state of Ohio and barely denting Obama's double-digit lead in Pennsylvania. The Quinnipiac poll shows Obama leading McCain 49 percent to 44 percent in Florida, compared to 51 percent to 43 percent on Oct. 1. Pollster Peter Brown said Obama's margin over McCain is ''due mostly to stronger support from Hispanics than [John] Kerry received.'' Along with invoking Joe the Plumber, McCain also attacked what he considers Obama's lack of experience.

The experience card proved largely unsuccessful for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the drawn-out presidential primary season. But the strategy has made a comeback in the election's homestretch, appearing in McCain stump speeches and in TV ads by the Republican Party. ''I've been tested,'' McCain said. ``Sen. Obama has not been tested and it shows. I've been fighting for his country since I was 17 years old and I have the scars to prove it.'' However, while the economy was the focus of Thursday's rally, it also drew dozens of local veterans, a crucial part of McCain's base that is expected to play a big role on Nov. 4. And many of those voters said they'd made up their minds long before ``Joe the Plumber.''

''You feel that you can trust him, and you feel that there are going to be people behind him,'' said Linda Garabino, 52, the wife of a disabled Vietnam veteran. Richard Nelson, 73, a Korean War veteran from Ormond Beach, said national security was a bigger concern for him. ''I'm retired and I planned my future real well,'' he said. ``I want someone who will protect us from the terrorists and I believe he's the only one who can do that job because of his military background.'' With less than two weeks left before Election Day, McCain's day trip to a state he must carry to win the White House is a high-stakes event. In addition to the public rallies, he's expected to meet privately with business owners in Plant City and Orlando.

The area encompasses a high proportion of Florida's independent voters, making it one of the most contested parts of the state. Each campaign has held more than a dozen events in central Florida since the summer. At McCain's side on Thursday will be Gov. Charlie Crist, who has faced criticism in recent weeks for not doing enough for the Republican ticket. In an interview on CBS' Early Show Wednesday morning, the popular governor affirmed he was ``110 percent behind him.'' In another interview on Fox News, Crist said McCain should ``continue to focus on the state, continue to do the things that matter to my fellow Floridians. Talk about, you know, reducing their taxes, putting more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. That's a winning message, and that's John McCain's message.'' Crist, who likes to describe himself as a ''happy warrior'' on the campaign trail, prefers to extol McCain's background and agenda.

But the Republican campaign has been on the attack, with anti-Obama automated calls and mailings. In one flier sent to South Florida voters, the word ''terrorists'' is displayed using what looks like letters cut out from magazines, in the style of a ransom note. ''Why should we care what they have to say?'' the ad asks, pointing to Obama's willingness to meet with hostile world leaders like the president of Iran. It doesn't mention that Obama has said he would not talk to leaders of Hamas or other terrorist groups. In a telephone call with Florida reporters Wednesday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a few hours after a campaign event in Tampa on Obama's behalf, called on McCain to stop the ``dirty tactics.''

I got this email yesterday and thought it was worth sharing. I suspect there are a lot of these types of conversations going on between parents and their children. I had mine 25 years ago and have been a proud conservative ever since.

Father/Daughter Talk:

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others around her with liberal ideals, she was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, and how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.

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