He's the right-wing media darling of the moment. His name was mentioned 24 times during the third presidential debate. Crowds chanted his name today and these very boards began to buzz with excitement from resident McCain fans. Here was someone who might turn the tide for the sinking Republican campaign, a hero! Yes, a real American hero, like... like Sarah Palin!

Alas, perhaps too much like Sarah Palin. Once again, McCain may have been too hasty with his embrace. Once again, the inevitable media scrutiny reveals a not-so-wondrous reality. Once again, the octane boost given the Straight Talk Express may have done its engine much more harm than good.

Let's zoom in now, shall we, on Joe the plumber - or, should I say, Joe the non-plumber, Joe the liar, Joe the tax deadbeat, Joe the Keating Five family member, Joe the all-around idiot.

An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union, based in Toledo, said Mr. Wurzelbacher does not hold a license. He also has never served an apprenticeship and does not belong to the union. (The national plumber’s union, the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Service Mechanics, endorsed Mr. Obama, it should be noted.)

“He’s basically playing games with the world,” Thomas Joseph, the local’s business manager, said in a telephone interview Thursday morning.

“All contractors are licensed, and he does not have a license, either as a contractor or a plumber,” the union official said, citing a search of government records. “I can’t find that he’s ever even applied for any kind of apprenticeship, and he has never belonged to local 189 in Columbus, which is what he claims on his Facebook page.”

According to public records, Mr. Wurzelbacher has been subject to two liens, each over $1,000, one of which — a personal tax lien — is still outstanding.
Joe in the Spotlight - NYTimes.com

Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes, giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
crooksandliars.com - Joe the Keating

Others have called into question the logic of Mr. Wurzelbacher's question to Mr. Obama, and pointed out that he would actually benefit from the Democrat's plan.
globeandmail.com: Joe the Plumber isn't

Say it ain't so, Joe. Say it ain't so.

wow- the Democrat attack machine is in full force over this private citizen.
Next, they will be saying his son is really his grandson. They will be printing shirts that say Joe the plumber is a c**t and plastering their cars with Joe the Plumber should have been aborted.

Oh yeah, and getting highly offended that Joe doesn't refute someone in his town 'threatens Obama'.
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But seriously,
Joe the plumber is not Joe Wurzelbacher. He's you and I, hybrix and pro2a. He's just an average guy that bust his **** everyday (its 12:07 and I'm just finishing work) so that we can own a business or go to school or whatever our dream is. And whether or not he's related to some big Replublican doesn't really matter. He's got the same simple question that we've all got - "When I make it in life, are you going to try to take it away from me?" and Obama's had a real simple answer "we're going to spread the wealth around". That's where Joe the Plumber is going to play.

And these attacks are going to do nothing but help McCain. Anytime politicians go after private citizens such as how Biden appeared to do with Joe the Plumber, that looks bad. Plus, he has a tax lien - that's just small business in America. I face it every quarter. Do I pay my suppliers and take a penality on taxes or do I pay taxes and work out something with the suppliers? I save money for 6 months and lose it all with a few visits to the doctor. That's real life - big deal.

That shows something about Obama's character to dig thru someones private life like that.

Fact is everybody, you, me, santa, and your neighbor I'm sure have outstanding debt somewhere. This is just part of Obama's smear campaign.

Smear campaign. Good one. So now the media learning and reporting that someone who asked Obama a question about taxes appears to be a Republican plant is "running a smear campaign".

That's completely delusional.

Digging thru is life is ok then? What right of Obama's is it to dig thru Joe's life?

Who said Obama dug through Joe's life?

Apparently you didn't read Tuckers post.

I read it five times and I still don't see where it says "Obama dug through Joe The Plumber's life"

Do I really have to explain this to you?

Where the hell do you think his camp got the info from? Either they found it for themselves, or someone "gave" it to them. The nerve to publicly announce this mans private life is uncalled for. Obama has not denounced it, there for he is responsible for it.

You're kidding, right? There's nothing about that post that I don't have a problem with.

It wasn't the Obama camp that reported it, it was the media. So you're saying that Obama gave the media the info, that the news media in this country is incapable of doing any kind of research? And that anything reported by the media has to be denounced by Obama or he is responsible for it?