Joe the plumber: Not really a plumber and not called Joe
John McCain faces embarrassment over plumber Joe's leaky story
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Friday, 17, Oct 2008 12:20
He may have been the star of the third and final presidential debate, but it turns out Joe the plumber's story has a fair few holes in it.
For one, he's not called Joe, and two, he's not even a plumber.
John McCain elevated Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio into the public eye on Wednesday when he used his example to illustrate the sort of people who would suffer under Barack Obama's tax plans.
At a rally last weekend, Wurzelbacher confronted the Democratic nominee over plans to raise taxes for people who earn more than $250,000.
''I'm getting taxed more and more for fulfilling the American dream," he told Obama.
The exchange saw the words 'Joe the plumber' used 26 times in Wednesday's debate, with Obama joining in too.
In contrast, the economy came up 13 times, Iraq once and Afghanistan not at all.
McCain was so impressed with Wurzelbacher that he joked at a charity dinner that he was to replace his entire campaign team with Joe the plumber.
More damagingly, his campaign released a new advert on Friday entitled Joe the Plumber, in which Obama responds to his tax concerns by saying: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
However, it emerged on Friday that Joe the plumber does not hold a valid plumber's licence, is actually called Samuel, earns far less than $250,000 and owes the state of Ohio about $1,200 in unpaid taxes.