It's all a part of the “American Idol” philosphy of so-called regular people having a meaningful place in society. Now, more than at any point since Warhol uttered the words, people seem entitled to their “fifteen minutes of fame.”

People like Joe the Plumber are carefully chosen representatives of the every-man. As such, they no more represent everyman than a homeless person, but their significance is thrust upon us so that we admit to their relevance.

He is a spokesman for the machine.

I don't generally like to be so specific with my subject matter, but
the whole over-personification of “average” does nothing but annoy me.
For the record, I think of myself as pretty average in one way or
another. You probably do too. And we'd both probably be right in that
mindset.

So I guess I agree with almost everything in your comment, but
especially the frustration with a media tendency to anoint our
representatives for us. But beyond that, I don't assume an average
person like me (or everyone's favorite archetype, Joe) would have any
especially brilliant insights into jumpstarting the economy. Which, I
think, officially makes me an elitist ;)