"I Am Joe The Plumber?" Well, Not Exactly

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: The Off-Beat

The Republican National Committee is sending around this Associated Press photo of overall-clad McCain supporters standing outside an Obama rally, clutching plungers and a sign proclaiming "I Am Joe The Plumber":

(AP)

The only problem? At least two of the members aren't quite as similar to the newly famous Joe Wurzelbacher as they might like you to think. As CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic, who is traveling with the Obama campaign, reports, the man on the right does say he's an actual plumber – though he is from Melbourne, Australia, and will thus not be casting a vote this November.

And the man on the left, plunger thrust high in the air, is Charlie Smith – the National Chairman of the College Republicans.

UPDATE: Smith said he drove down to the rally because he disagrees with Barack Obama's tax policy. "We're gonna pay higher taxes under Barack Obama, he's gonna tax small businesses," he said. "We're out here supporting the American dream, people like Joe the plumber."

And here's some video of the group:

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by joethemath October 19, 2008 2:58 AM EDT: Posted by David1752 at 10:39 AM, Oct 18, 2008
These idiots dont realize they would get a tax cut under Obama.It does''''nt appear any make over 250,000.
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David, you are an idiot and don''t understand, that you will get a welfare check, but not a tax cut, because you will loose your job, because those "rich" people with $250.000 will not afford to keep idiots on a payroll.; Reply to this comment


by gbsimon-2009 October 18, 2008 11:56 PM EDT: I am a CPA. I know most americans pay little of no taxes. If you make $45000, are married with two kids eligible for the child tax credit you pay ZERO federal income tax. The majority of americans are in this group!

What concerns me is the democratic approach to block any dissent. Democrats only believe in free speech if it follows their views.

Americans should be afraid when the media silences descenters. Reminds me of another country a couple of years back, and now again, USSR.

I find it funny that democrats worry about their privacy but are not even outraged when Sarah Palin''s personal email is broken into.; Reply to this comment


by jaykay3141 October 18, 2008 9:57 PM EDT: "Joe" claims to be a businessman, yet his comments indicate he doesn''t understand the difference between gross receipts, net profit, and taxable income ???

Sounds to me as if some RepubliConMen found this guy in a plumbing store, got so "flushed" with his right-wing views they "plunged" ahead with plans to use him to "sink" the Obama campaign. They figured the rest of us would be "pipe dope"s and fall into the "trap".

Now we know he doesn''t have a license and is a tax cheat ... looks like the Repugnicans got themselves a "plumber''s snake"!; Reply to this comment


by dis12x October 18, 2008 6:04 PM EDT: This is hilarious. The media''s doubling down on Joe. Must really be hurting the Obama campaign. Also, notice how Obama is singling out Fox News for ridicule. (Saul Alinsky Rule #5: Ridicule the enemy) These are obviously vectors of attack that have found their mark, and are doing some damage to him.

Joe has resonated. Joe''s got traction. Plumbers don''t like to be publically mocked and have their dreams ridiculed. Plumbers don''t like to stand in their own yard on a rare day off, playing ball with their kid, have a politician come in to say how''s it going, share his aspiration to buy a business, and then have that aspiration belittled and demeaned by every media jackal and limo lib who''s tickled to death that any plumber thinks he can make $250,000. What a hoot! An uppity plumber!

I know Jay Leno got a kick out of it, a plumber who thinks he can make $250,000. Leno only has about twenty-three Porsches, Ferraris and antique Mercedes in his garage. He aspires to have sixty Ferraris and Porsches. Should I laugh?

This''ll be so good for Obama''s ability to unite and govern the whole country if he wins. It''ll just make his life in the White House so nice, and make implementing his agenda so easy, to keep trashing Joe the plumber. It''ll be a straight shot to the heights of presidential stardom for ol'' Obama, to harass and berate a white working class, blue collar worker.

I hear that''s one of Obama''s strongest constituencies.; Reply to this comment


by dis12x October 18, 2008 6:01 PM EDT: This is hilarious. The media''s doubling down on Joe. Must really be hurting the Obama campaign. Also, notice how Obama is mentioning Fox News for ridicule. (Saul Alinsky Rule #5: Ridicule the enemy) These are obviously vectors of attack that have found their mark, and are doing some damage to him.

Joe has resonated. Joe''s got traction. Plumbers don''t like to be publically mocked and have their dreams ridiculed. Plumbers don''t like to stand in their own yard playing ball with their kid, have a politician come in to say how''s it going, share his aspiration to buy a business, and then have that aspiration belittled and demeaned by every media jackal and limo lib who''s tickled to death that any plumber thinks he can make $250,000. What a hoot! An uppity plumber!

I know Jay Leno got a kick out of it, a plumber who thinks he can make $250,000. Leno has about twenty-three Porsches, Ferraris and antique Mercedes in his garage. He knows all about it.

This''ll be so good for Obama''s ability to unite and govern the whole country if he wins. It''ll just make his life in the White House so nice, and make implementing his agenda so easy, to keep trashing Joe the plumber. It''ll be a straight shot to the heights of presidential stardom for ol'' Obama, to harass and berate a white working class, blue collar worker.

I hear that''s one of Obama''s strongest constituencies. Heh.; Reply to this comment


by kopana October 18, 2008 5:04 PM EDT: WHEN YOU TAKE FROM ONE PERSON TO GIVE TO ANOTHER ITS SOCIALISM.

I guess the Republicans are the best socialists out there then.. according to your definition...The RICH and SUPER RICH (WALL STREET FAT CATS)take from the Middle CLASS and Poor.; Reply to this comment


by kopana October 18, 2008 5:01 PM EDT: It looks like Joe the Plumber is just another Republican operative, he is reported to not pay his taxes, very unpatriotic....MCCain''s campaign needs to get a little bit more sophisticated , but how...when he picks the worst like Palin.when there were more qualified, serious Republican women to choose from.

However, as a an average middle class voter, it works to my best interest....Keep up the good work
Republicans...

Vote smarter...Vote OBAMA/BIDEN 0; Reply to this comment


by julez41 October 18, 2008 3:41 PM EDT: The fact is "Joe the plumber" is anti-tax because at some point he tried to screw the government and now he has a tax lien on his house. Otherwise he would understand and know that Obama''s tax plan would ultimately benefit him. McCain''s plan is more of the same of the past eight years. Our country will fall apart with those continued economic policies. How much more debt do you want to rack up Neederbauer? I think you should go on-line and find a country that better suits your personal ideology. Paying taxes is part of being a responsible citizen, NOT socialism. Wasn''t the a** hole in "Animal House" called Needermeier? It''s very close, I suspect you must be related based on your idiotic rantings; Reply to this comment


by newslink October 18, 2008 2:49 PM EDT: Now every Nut is coming out for their 15 min. of fame. Make sure your records are clean guys. Because there will be Background checks.; Reply to this comment


by david1752 October 18, 2008 1:39 PM EDT: These idiots dont realize they would
get a tax cut under Obama.It does''nt appear any make over 250,000.; Reply to this comment