Has somebody got a plunger...

so that we can make all this sh*t go away...

This whole thing with "Joe the Plumber" shows just how people think. I don't know Joe -- don't know if he suddenly saw a chance for his fifteen minutes of fame or whether he was just an average guy who got caught up in something that became bigger than it should have. At any rate, the Republicans held him up as a example; the Democrats went after the guy as if his one opinion made some sort of huge difference. Lost in the melee was the fact that he asked a legitimate question and it was answered. The focus should be on that question and the answer -- not on who asked it. But folks would rather kill the messenger, I guess, than talk about the issues.

Anyway, I've been wondering this:

I call myself a writer -- but I've never been published. Now, to some folks that would mean that I'm not really a writer -- maybe I do indeed write but I really don't have the right to call myself one unless I've been published and/or make money from it. So, if I choose to call myself a writer, does that mean I'm misrepresenting myself? I imagine, as with everything, it depends on who you ask.

The other thing is celebrity. Some folks seek it and, when they get it, they complain about it -- I'm totally not interested in hearing about the hardship of being famous. Some folks have celebrity thrust upon them. I've read that Joe was a "Republican plant" -- I don't know -- but, honestly, why would they choose someone like Joe? That would make no sense. But, yeah, we are talking politics and I've seen and heard some really dumb stuff coming from both sides. At any rate, if Joe was just an average guy who happened upon this street scene and ended up being splashed on TV and in newspapers, then it was not his fault or his choice. However, now that he has chosen to appear on various news shows, then he's got to deal with whatever fallout ensues. And it will. Man, will it. Just wait and see what they will dig up on ol' Joe now. I imagine we'll get to see cruelty at work first-hand.

And, tell me, if the shoe had been on the other foot -- if the same scenario had occurred but in reverse -- if it was John McCain instead of Barack Obama -- do you really think the same exact thing wouldn't have happened? I'm not so blind I can't see how this just might be the case. And, if that did happen, my stance on the matter would be exactly the same.

Several years ago, I had a chance to speak to a presidential hopeful. I was very excited -- and when I suddenly had a chance to get closer and actually speak, I went for it. There were cameras everywhere but, by that point, I didn't care or even notice them. I babbled incoherently, I'm sure -- I have no recollection. I wasn't trying to get on TV or in the newspaper but who's to say, if I had said something that someone had deemed newsworthy, that I wouldn't have been. And, Lord knows, what might have been said about me.

I might have said I was a writer, for God's sake, and they might have taken me to task for it...