2008 Election

Looks Like Joe Isn’t Saving John

By Maegan Carberry ⋅ October 20, 2008 ⋅   Email this post ⋅  Digg This ⋅  Share on Facebook ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

TPM’s Greg Sargent blogs about the marginal impact America’s most overexposed plumber has had on voters in mega-swing states, Ohio and Missouri.

“Check out these great numbers buried in a new Suffolk University poll of Ohio and Missouri, which tests the impact of McCain’s frequent claim that Barack Obama wants to pick Joe the Plumber’s pocket in order to further his shadowy socialist and redistributionist agenda:

In Ohio, 68 percent of respondents said they recognized “Joe the Plumber,” but only 6 percent said that Joe’s story will make them more likely to vote McCain; 4 percent were more likely to vote for Obama; and 85 percent were not affected. A similar finding was recorded in Missouri, where 80 percent had heard of the presidential plumber; 8 percent were more likely to vote McCain; 3 percent more likely to vote Obama; and 86 percent not affected by his story.

That’s pretty consistent. In both states — both Bush states — all of one-tenth of the voters who know who Joe the Plumber is said it made them more likely to back McCain. And in both states, huge, huge majorities of around 85% say the Joe mentions make no difference.”

In the meantime, a shout out to my boy Baratunde Thurston, for his submission to McCain’s Joe the Plumber video contest: