This vote's for you
Seeking Joe Six-Pack, the man candidates court
Where are you, Joe Six-Pack?
You came up in Thursday night's vice presidential debate. In fact, Joe, the nation's politicians turn their lonely eyes to you all the time. You're one-half of the couple whose votes they always seem to be courting. (Note to Hockey Mom: Sorry, this story is not about you. Nothing personal; he should be home soon.)
Yesterday, the Globe hit the streets of Boston in search of you, Joe Six-Pack, to find out how you're handling the limelight, and whether you think the people at the podiums are speaking to you.
Turns out, you might have been born and raised here in Boston. More on that later. The point is, it should be easy to find you.
Dave Harrison, a medical student hurrying through the lunchtime crush in Downtown Crossing, knows Joe.
"He's a typical American guy," he said.
Great. Could Harrison arrange a meeting with Joe? He could not. Neither could a banker, a real estate broker, or a public relations worker.
Did that mean Six-Pack doesn't live here any more? Say it ain't so, Joe.
It ain't so.
Ainsley Evans was reclining against a fence at a construction site in downtown Boston, taking thoughtful drags on a cigarette during an afternoon break.
"I'm Joe Six-Pack," Evans, a carpenter who lives in Mattapan, said in the lilt of his native Jamaica. His nickname, not incidentally, is "Joe."
So, what's it like to be you, Joe?
"I'm a regular worker and the taxes are killing me," he said. Does he mind people using his name?
"I guess that's putting us down, in the lower class," Evans sighed. "I don't feel poor, but I'm suffering."
OK, full disclosure time. Merriam-Webster says Joe Six-Pack is "from the stereotype of a six-pack of beer as a workingman's drink; an ordinary man: a blue-collar worker." An archival search revealed that Joe was mentioned in a 1970 column by former Globe writer Martin F. Nolan, who, when contacted, said he had heard references on the streets of South Boston and Dorchester and decided to give "Joe Six-Pack" some ink. Nolan believes he was the first to write about Joe.
"I guess I should have got a copyright on it," he said by phone from San Francisco, where he works for The Huffington Post. "If I had a nickel for every time the phrase was used, how many six packs could I buy?"
You grew up from there, Joe. You became the model for the Reagan Democrats. President Clinton invoked you as he tried to overcome the sexual scandals of his presidency.
"If I were just a private citizen, Joe Six-Pack, I would have mixed feelings about not getting a chance to disprove these allegations in court," Clinton once told Time magazine. And now we have Sarah Palin, who aligned herself in Thursday's debate with "everyday American people, Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation."
It may be worth noting that Joe Six-Pack, also known as Ainsley Evans, plans to vote for Barack Obama, and doesn't drink beer.
Joe Cabral of Fall River does.
"I'm Joe, and I drink it by the 20-pack," he said, holding a Dunkin' Donuts coffee with hands covered in dried caulk. "I'm a laborer, I'm a middle-class, hard-working guy."
So are the politicians talking to you, Joe?
"I don't like politicians," he said. "They aren't going to help the middle class."
Ron Gauld, an auditor from Milton, didn't exactly evoke the image of Joe Six-Pack as he ambled his way down Washington Street puffing on a pipe.
Ron, can you possibly be Joe?
"I think so," Gauld said. "To me, Joe is a common US citizen, a working man. He works all day to support his family and after work relaxes with a cold one."
Politicians take note: Gauld plans to vote Republican.
For all the Joes and his acquaintances, there were others who had no idea who he was.
"I haven't heard of him," said Rico Panzetti, a hairstylist from Boston. "I've been busy with my apartment."
"I don't know him, not really," said Sarath Phan, a devout Red Sox fan from Lowell.
"To me it's someone with nice abs," said Theresa Heymon, a carpenter from Hyde Park.
Otis Swift Phillips III does know Joe Six-Pack, but he's not likely to vote.
"Joe, he's a good guy," said Phillips, who said he lives on Boston Common
"Joe Six-Pack, he's been unemployed for a long time. He's trying to get his job back, but someone keeps beating him to it," he said. "I could fit the description. Joe, he's a good guy."
David Filipov can be reached at filipov@globe.com. Globe correspondent Anne Baker contributed to this report. 