Joe Wurzelbacher, Almost A Plumber
What the World is Saying About the Overnight Political Celebrity
Oct 16, 2008
"Joe six-pack" is no longer the face of the average American, at least for the time being. At the final Presidential debate on Wednesday, October 15, he was replaced with another Joe. "Joe the Plumber," as his story went during the debate, is a hard-working business owner in Ohio who is on the verge of making over $250,00 a year. The character was brought up about two dozen times Wednesday night.
Joe the Plumber Confronts Obama the Candidate
A week before the final U.S. presidential debate, Joe Wurzelbacher introduced himself to Senator Barack Obama as a man "getting ready to buy a company that makes two hundred fifty, uh, $270-$280,000 a year." He was upset that for his business earnings above $250,000, he would be taxed an additional three percent in income taxes for, as he put it, "fulfilling the American dream."
During Wednesday night's debate against Senator Obama, Senator John McCain repeatedly raised the issue of Joe the Plumber's tax increase, to the point where Wurzelbacher was mentioned about two dozen times during the debate and made an overnight political celebrity.
Joe the Plumber is not a Plumber
Joe Wurzelbacher is neither registered nor licensed as a plumber, as his local state's newspaper, Toledo Blade, discovered the day after the debate. As far as his planned takeover of a $250,000+ annual newspaper, "The possibility of him eventually buying the company was discussed during his job interview," according to Toledo Blade's article.
Wurelbacher was hard to track down in the voter registry, as he apparently misspelled his own name. A "Joseph Worzelbacher," registered Republican, was found with Joe the Plumber's age and address. Even with this spelling of Joe the Plumber's name, Joe is not a plumber in any legal sense of the word.
BBC on Joe the Plumber
There is almost no subject that amuses the British more than American antics, and Joe the Plumber provided ample quotation material for the British Broadcasting Corporation to keep its readers chuckling for at least the next week.
In its main article about Joe the Plumber, BBC prominently displays Joe's quote, "Robin Hood stole from the greedy rich people and redistributed it to the peasants, so if he's calling us peasants, I kind of resent that." The quote highlights the fact that Joe the Plumber--in the misspelling of his name-- is a registered Republican, and is willing to be portrayed as a victim both as a wealthy business owner and as a "peasant" when speaking against Senator Obama.
BBC also had some fun when publishing Joe's inarticulate quote on who he would vote for in November, as Joe said, "Only me and the lever knows." The online BBC article also includes full video coverage of the discussion between Senator Obama and Joe the Plumber
Canada on Joe the Plumber
The Canadian news source Globe and Mail simply stated its findings when it said, in its article's title, "Joe the Plumber isn't." The article declared, "Forget Joe Six-Pack. It's all about Joe the Plumber," adding the the iconic hopeful plumber "owes $1,182.29 in backtaxes."
Futhermore, the Canadian article points out, Joe does not make $250,00.00. "No, not even close," Wurzelbacher admitted on Good Morning America Thursday night.
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