The Screwups of Campaign '08
Presidential campaigns are so carefully stage-managed that few things are as entertaining as the mistakes politicians make on the trail. Throughout the 2008 race, check out TIME.com's ongoing chronicle of each candidate's gaffes, and then vote on just how big a screwup each one is
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"Joe the Plumber"
Oct. 28, 2008
"I'll actually go ahead and agree with you on that one."
—Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as "Joe the Plumber," when asked while campaigning for John McCain if a vote for Democrat Barack Obama is a vote for the "death of Israel." Explaining his response, Wurzelbacher told Shepard Smith of Fox News, "You don't want my opinion on foreign policy. I know just enough probably to be dangerous," to which Smith responded: "Well, that's what I was wondering," before pointing out that Obama has consistently pledged his support for Israel. Less than a week later, Wurzelbacher questioned Obama's "loyalty to our country" during another appearance on Fox News.
— M.J. Stephey
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