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Politics : THE WHITE HOUSE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (24015)	10/16/2008 3:45:43 PM
From: pompsander	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25737

Joe the Plumber is a plumber...albeit an unlicensed one working on residential housess, which in Ohio does not require a license. He also has tax liens outstanding....and seems to have fudged a bit on his qualifications.... Frankly, just a regular guy now caught in the spotlight. (gotta pay those tax liens though). __________________________- When Mr. McCain invoked Mr. Wurzelbacher in Wednesday’s debate — some version of “Joe the Plumber” was mentioned two dozen times during the 90 minutes — as a way to criticize Mr. Obama’s tax plan and wealth-sharing argument, Mr. Wurzelbacher suddenly found camera crews outside his home, Katie Couric on the phone, and himself in the full glare of the media spotlight. Mr. Wurzelbacher did not respond to a message left on his home phone and there was no answer at his plumbing business. On Thursday, he told the Associated Press that he felt like Britney Spears. “I’m kind of like Britney Spears having a headache,” he said. “Everybody wants to know about it.” Unlike some other states, Ohio does not have a formal statewide licensing system for plumbers. But the city of Toledo and other municipalities do, Mr. Joseph said, and Mr. Wurzelbacher has not met those requirements. “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. And his question to Mr. Obama about paying taxes? According to some tax analysts, if Mr. Wurzelbacher’s gross receipts from his business is $250,000 — and not his taxable income — then he would not have to pay higher taxes under Mr. Obama’s plan, and probably would be eligible for a tax cut. Mr. Wurzelbacher is registered to vote in Lucas County under the name Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher. “We have his named spelled W-O, instead of W-U,” Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said in a telephone interview. “Handwriting is sometimes hard to read. He has never corrected it in his registration card.” The records, she said, showed he voted Republican in the March primary. Mr. Wurzelbacher told Ms. Couric that his encounter with Mr. Obama was a matter of impulse. “Neighbors were outside asking him questions, and I didn’t think they were asking him tough enough questions,” he said. He went on, “You know, I’ve always wanted to ask one of these guys a question and really corner them and get them to answer a question,” he said, “for once instead of tap dancing around it, and unfortunately I asked the question, but I still got a tap dance.” He added, “Almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr.” Five days later his decision to confront Mr. Obama has spawned a line of novelty T-shirts sold on the Internet. “Vote Joe the Plumber ’08,” one shirt reads, with the tag: “No More Drips in the White House.” thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com