Watch if You Dare: Joe the Plumber's Über-Awkward Stand-Up Flop (Video)

Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville at 1:10 PM on October 6, 2009.

[sigh] I'm done. I'm gonna go back to living the life of luxury—I miss my drivers, I miss my limo, I liss my—I miss my car-dee-err of, uh, uh, excuse me, my snifter of car-dee-, uh, uh, snifter of… [someone yells from audience] Oh! Macallan. [snorts] And for you of those that don't know, Macallan is a ten thousand bottle of whisky. And I really love giving myself footbaths—I pour about three of those bottles with a pound of saffron in there. At the same time, I let my concubines work me, you know, deep tissue massage—oh, god, I miss it so much. [laughs; looks down at his notecards and flips through them]

That way, I can go back to, uh, you know, I can go back to life of luxury, like I was saying, and, you know, I can hang out with my, uh, two cocker spaniels, uh, Goldwater and Reagan. I could watch my, uh, filly run the derby next year; her name's Oppress the Poor. I could watch her on my hundred-and-nine inch plasma screen TV, so… [breathes heavily; flips through note cards furiously]

So, that's what's been weighing on my chest, so, you know, hey, listen— [takes a deep breath and exhales] I'm Joe the Plumber no more—I'm Francis W. Rove, rich Republican, and I'm happy to be out of the closet. And you know what gives me the most pleasure of all? Is Keith Olbermann's somewhere out there right now screaming, "I knew it! I knew it!" And he's gonna have a stroke and life will be good. Thank you guys very much.

The transcript does not even begin to convey how awkward this "set" actually is. Although I would like to point out that his spoonerized "for you of those that don't know," which was not my typing error, and his "ten thousand bottle of whisky" (ten thousand what—hot dogs?!), which was also not my typing error, should give you some idea. As should the fact he's onstage with a cheat sheet.

I love that his entire routine seems to be based around the ABSURDITY that people might think he's a wealthy Republican, despite the fact that he's spent the last year insinuating himself into the Republican media machine, from which even dodo-brains like Jeff Gannon can make a hot buck.

Tagged as: comedy, mccain, palin, joe the plumber

Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.