It doesn't matter if Joe the Plumber is the spawn of Satan. What matters is the question he asked and the answer Obama gave.

The Left clearly realizes Obama's answer is damaging, and that's why they're engaged in this campaign of distraction.

The point: Obama would take money from A and give it B for no other reason than A makes more money than B. B has to do nothing to earn it other than make less money than A.

That's the clearly stated goal straight from Obama's mouth: "Spread the wealth around a little."

It's also part of his stated policy: Raise taxes on some to give a tax cut to others, some of whom don't pay any taxes in the first place.

That's damaging to admit, and that's why Obama's loyal lieutenants in the MSM are busy trying to distract us all with the non-stories about who Joe really is.

The top 5% of wage earners pay 95% of income taxes. How much more would be "fair"?

You, sir, are a mind reader. I was just about to make that point, although I was going to use the word "iconoclast" with regard to MK.

Please, can we put this to rest. The Secret Service, which was at the rally, said no such threat was made. No other law enforcement officer at the rally heard it either.

The sole source is a reporter for the Toledo paper, so we know how much we can count on that.

Remember, the Secret Service is trained to pick up on threats. Newspaper reporters are in the tank for Obama. Nuff said.

You trotted out every pro-abortion canard in the cage, all of them wrong.

First, the reason McCain did the air quotes around "health" is that abortionists, most of whom are in it only for the profit, will come up with the lamest of health excuses to justify an abortion. "It'll affect her mental health if she has to carry to term."

If the mother's life were truly in danger, then abortion might be justified. Even the Catholic church recognizes this. But the "health" exception is a loophole big enough to drive a tractor through -- deliberately so.

Second, pro-lifers are on the forefront of the adoption front, encouraging families to adopt infants or children in the foster care system. Check out the book "Small Town, Big Miracle," in which a small church in Possum Trot, Texas, (yes, it's a real place) adopted 72 of the hardest-to-place children out of the foster care system.

Pro-lifers volunteer time and resources to support mothers who can't support their children, providing health care free of charge throughout the pregnancy and then arranging adoptions for the babies if the mother can't keep it. You're comfortable believing your simple pro-abortion lies. Compare this to your worldview: just kill it.

You don't know about any of this because (a) the press can't be bothered to report it and (b) you can't be bothered to find out.

Finally, there's zero correlation between the amount of money spent on education and the health and education of children. If there were, then the children of Chicago and Washington, DC, would be the smartest in the nation.

The problem with your parable is the tax hike will not be used to pay down debt, pay for the war or anything else like that. If it were, you'd get no complaint from me.

No, it's being used to give a "tax cut" to some people who don't even pay taxes.

Simply put, it's taking money from some people and giving it to others.

Add the more than $1 trillion in spending proposals in Obama's platform and you have a recipe for disaster worse than what Bush has bequeathed.

But of course Obama is lying and has no intention of doing this. He's simply pandering and buying votes. We all know what happened the last time a Democrat promised a middle-class tax cut: the biggest non-wartime tax hike in history.

And this election cycle has the highest number of undecideds at this point in the race since 1988, almost 15% in some polls, 7 to 8 % in others. That's huge.

This thing is far from over, and Nancy Pelosi's premature celebrations might just become egg on her face.

Truly a conundrum. Some will argue that lower taxes on these things encourages investment, which creates jobs, etc.

The opposite argument can also be made.

The problem comes with marginal tax rates -- how much your taxes go up on every dollar you earn over a certain amount. Reagan recognized that it was marginal tax rates that were killing people and killing incentive.

Lower marginal rates and people are more willing to invest and take chances, since there's less "punishment" involved with success.

High marginal rates, which would happen under Obama's plan, kills incentives and investment. Why work hard to make that extra dollar if it's just going to get taxed away?

Here's from a Gallup poll in June:

When given a choice about how government should address the numerous economic difficulties facing today's consumer, Americans overwhelmingly—by 84% to 13%—prefer that the government focus on improving overall economic conditions and the jobs situation in the United States as opposed to taking steps to distribute wealth more evenly among Americans.

Barack "Spread the Wealth" Obama might have just blown the election. That explains the very sudden tightening in the polls. Obama showed his true colors, and people reacted.

I think the Left recognizes that, too, which is why they're trying to obfuscate the issue with all the baloney about who Joe the Plumber really is to avoid talking about what Obama really said.