10/16 Roundup: Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber

Leader: Debating the Debate

- Does he know Joe Six-Pack?  Is he Joe Six-Pack? It's hard to say, but the clear winner of last night's presidential debate was neither Barack Obama nor John McCain, but Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, who, after disagreeing with Obama last week, has become the centerpiece and touchstone of McCain's economic argument. Katie Couric got an interview with Joe. 

- McCain was on the attack last night, and by general consensus, was at his best. Also by general consensus, his performance still wasn't enough to beat Obama, and certainly not enough to have an impact on the election. Cool-as-a-Moose Obama was, as usual, imperturbable. Even Joe the Plumber can't fix a busted campaign, writes E.J. Dionne in the Post.

- As Karen Tumulty writes, it's not a good sign when the focus group is laughing at you. The CNN and FOX focus groups both went for Obama last night. Similar returns came back from national post-debate polls.

Economy

- Wall Street was mired in doom and gloom yesterday, with the Dow taking its worst drop in 21 years, just days after one of its biggest gains in history.

- Markets are already down again this morning.

- Switzerland's two biggest banks will be getting support from outside investors.

Election '08

- Matt Bai has an article in the New York Times Magazine chronicling Obama's quest to court the working class. While in the New York Review of Books, Mark Danner comments on Obama's stump style.

- Obama's bold and unprecedented buy of a half-hour of airtime on the major networks the week before the election just got its wow-factor boosted:  As Melissa wrote yesterday, FOX has agreed to push back a potential Game 6 of the World Series to make room for Barack's ad.

- Younger (millenial) households are more likely to be cell-phone only, and tend to skew Democratic. Mark Blumenthal thinks these people are underrepresented in polls.

- Want to talk swing states? Forget Florida.  Joe Biden wants West Virginia. It increasingly looks like McCain will be playing "Red State Hold 'em."

- Ben Smith publishes a wild letter from a Republican Field Operative, describing people who plain old don't like Obama, but are voting for him anyway.

International

- In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez is mocking "Comrade Bush for his left turn.

- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is seeking a more robust force in Afghanistan, and General David Petraeus is launching a major review of U.S. military strategy across the Middle East.

One More Thing

- The PBS documentary Latinos '08, featuring NDN President Simon Rosenberg, among others, got a glowing review in today's Washington Post.

- Last, Barack's original conversation with Joe the Plumber: