Matt Damon Honored By "Joe The Plumber" Shout-Out, Campaigning For Obama

SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Damon is honored that the most recent celebrity of the presidential campaign _ "Joe the Plumber" _ dropped his name in an interview.

"That was a surprise. I hadn't heard that Joe the Plumber dropped my name," Damon said. "I'm honored to be in the little passion play, to be an extra."

The plumber, whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher, became an overnight media sensation after he was referred to constantly in the final presidential debate. When the press arrived at his Ohio home, Wurzelbacher, a Republican, said he hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself with all the attention, "I don't have a lot of pull. It's not like I'm Matt Damon."

Damon _ a hardcore Democrat who has spent as much time campaigning for Barack Obama recently than he has acting _ was in San Francisco promoting a charity, OneXOne (pronounced One-by-One).

Along with hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean, Damon was promoting the group's work to end hunger and suffering for children in poverty in the U.S. and Africa.

The actor said he's headed to Florida this weekend to work with the Obama campaign on getting out the vote in a key battleground state. After that, Damon is off to Morocco to finish shooting a movie, but he said he would stay engaged with the Obama campaign.

"I'm sure I'll be on the phone over there after filming every night," he said. "I'll do telephone interviews or whatever they'll have me do. I want to sprint to the finish with the millions of us who really have been desperate for this change."

Damon previously had been openly critical of John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, calling the campaign's pick for the vice presidency "a disaster." On Thursday, Damon said he would not comment on the Republican ticket.

"The Obama campaign has decided to focus on the positive, and I should be a bigger man and be able to do that with them," Damon said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.onexone.org

Comments

[wilhelmR]

These supposed to be SB "owners" such as plumbers, electricians, glassiers, etc., get paid MOSTLY OFF the books, so what tax schedule were McCain and Obama debating the other nignt?

[janinei]

buffyjones See Profile I'm a Fan of buffyjones I'm a fan of this user permalink

Good one...anyb­ody can open their mouth and say something stupid but that doesn't mean we have to listen to it

----------­----------­----------­----------

cool, Buffy has "given" permission for us to ignore her!!

[jrjoyrae]

:o)

I'm enjoying another glass of Kool-Aid and your remark!

Love it!

[LITU]

IMHO, this is a fundamental failure with both campaigns. It's always about the middle class, but never about the poor class, which is the class that needs the most energy directed towards it in order to elevate it to the middle class.

Ideally, in a country as rich as ours, there should be only two classes, and poor isn't one of them.

[Glowcy]

.
LITU, please consider that the past eight years have been extraordinary tough on the middle class with jobs being outsourced to overseas locations coupled with the tsunami of the credit and mortgage meltdowns. What we now have, unless staunched, is movement to two classes, rich and poor.

The poor have not been overlooked. Its ranks are filing in with former members of the middle class. The poor can't be helped if the middle class dwindles to nothing. Think about it this way: the US is moving towards two classes and being a banana republic with nuclear weapons.

.

[LITU]

I guess you didn't really get my point, though I appreciate your comment and insight. As far as the middle class goes you're preaching to the choir.

I am well aware of the shift towards a feudal society, brought about by the deterioration of the middle class. That is and has always been the motive of the aristocracy.

But, to keep things in perspective, the substantially devalued middle class, collectively speaking (underlined), isn't even close to a true state of poverty, experienced by a full one-eighth of our citizens. Focusing on reinforcing the middle class structure has little effect on the poor, who are invariably outside the loop. And I'm not thinking about the family who's scamming the system. I'm thinking about the family who's run into a spell of bad luck that results in poverty.

My point was that by only addressing the middle class, a huge portion of the population is ignored (directly through political dialog). I'm happy to do the research to prove my point via links, but the information is certainly out there for anyone seeking it.

[buffyjones]

MAYBE THIS ARTICLE IS A PLANT BY THE REPUBLICAN C O N S P I R A C Y to make DEMS look bad.

MAYBE YOUR BRAIN IS A PLANT BY REPUBLICAN C O N S P I R A C Y to make the DEMS look really bad...and this one is REALLY WORKING.

[luckyrico1]

We feel your pain that the McCain/Palin campaign is going so badly.

[michellemtsu]

You tell 'em, Matt!

[apeman637]

Tag those clothes that Palin has to give back at the end of her debauchery and let Damon and da pluma auction off that stuff to raise funds to help feed those kids in poverty.

[wdw101]

what doesn't the unearned tax credit and welfare help enough

[OCKerouac]

In Africa? I'm not sure if they have a welfare program...

Reading is fundamental!

[jotunloki]

The tax credit you make fun of was started by that well known socialist, Ronald Reagan.

[lejman]

but is your name really matt damon?

[buffyjones]

good one...

[jrjoyrae]

Matthew Damon to be precise...

"Damon was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Kent Telfer Damon, a stockbroker, realtor, and tax preparer, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University­.[1]"

And although you may not like his acting (which I believe can be truly awe-inspiring (Good Will Hunting/The Departed) at times and at other times seriously lacking (wish I'd never seen Brother's Grimm)... he is truly a humanitari­an... (google it... you'll see the numerous things he does to help those less fortunate.­.. i.e. OneXOne... "Not on our watch"... Traveling to Haiti to bring awareness to the devastation after the recent hurricanes­)...

I think he has earned the right to voice his opinion (although.­.. this is America... and no one has to EARN it... A-LA... the free speech that spews forth all over this board)

[pootus4]

it's about frickin' time someone acknowledge the right of the left to expose glaring hypocracy of the right. ~~~~~ thank you, jrjoyrae!

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

MATT DAMON IS A HEART-THROB :)

[strength]

ok so wait! Joe the plumbers real name is Samuel? Is Joe his middle name? WTF

[wdw101]

so what is your point

[luckyrico1]

The point is that Joe the plumber was a pocket full of lies (real name Samuel, not a licensed plumber, owes back taxes in Ohio, makes not enough money to buy his boss's plumbing business) you, know, the same kind of lies we've been told for 8 years.

[bushlies]

The late, great Paul Newman once said he was "honored" to be on Nixon's "enemies" list. Matt, you are in very good company when a Repug plant tries to "diss" you,

[wdw101]

no, i just have no use or respect for him now

[Wood]

Good thing he doesn't need your money...

[buffyjones]

You might want to read the article. Joe did not "diss" Matt. He simply said he does not have the "pull" of Matt. Would you disagree with that?

"Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a f o o l than to open it and remove all doubt"

[kadene]

Damon's decision not to respond negatively speaks of the impact of the Obama leadership and how a positive message can only bear positive fruit, reminiscent of the example set by the most prolific leaders of the 20th century: Winston Churchill, Mohandas Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, who inspired unity in their constituents.

The current infighting in the McCain camp points to the debilitating negativism of his campaign, that has only succeeded in turning the principal players against each other, and has brought out the worst in the complex society that is America

Negativity is the father of destruction.

[margardner]

Hear, hear!

Vote positive, Vote Obama!

[buffyjones]

Have you been drinking the cherry k o o l a i d or the lime?

[janinei]

Very positive Ms. Buffy

[luckyrico1]

Being positively inspired by Obama and Damon has nothing to do with religious brainwashing.

[jrjoyrae]

Kool aid costs less than Ensure... (haven't you seen the ads??)

and it's got vitamin C!!!

So... go ahead and sign me up for 4 (and 4 more) years of Kool-Aid refreshment.

[MariaHopeful]

The only people missing from this fight to change our nation for good are the black basketball players. But not to worry, there is one superstar in this country and his name is Barack Obama. We will remember these cowards and I hope that they get Republicans to buy their overpriced sneakers. Disgusting!

[CeciliaBertrand]

I have been very impressed with the younger actors who have been fighting for our country and the world - by using their celebrity and their money to help change in truth come around to us once more. I openly thank Matt Damon,Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bono, and many others who go beyond what is popular to bring humanity to a higher place in our consciousness.

[paidinfull23]

Yeah, I agree. These young bulls have been really active the past few years and it really seems genuine. I'm really impressed and makes me want to support their movies even more.

[HudsonGal]

I agree also they could be at whatever hotspot in L.A., Miami, Las Vegas or NY and not give a darn about anything like so many of the celebrities that we unfortunaly hear about. You may or not believe in thier politics but you know they actually try to get things done and not just have thier name added to the list.

[icemilkcoffee]

Scarlett Johansen too.

[flabingo]

Rodney King suggested "Can't we just get along" We are on this planet for such a short time and we have to share the air we breathe, the water we drink, the space we live,the energy we consume, and we need the human spirit to do no harm to each other

[CeciliaBertrand]

Thank you for sharing - speaks deeply to me in this hour.

[wdw101]

no we don't need to get along.....­....who made that rule......­..then to quote that I d i o t Rodney King is flat out amazing...­........

[janinei]

You sir, are such a beautiful Christian!

[svengalifx]

Joe The Plumber is a typical Rovian scam.

Now there is the McCain Volunteer who was allegedly attacked by a black man who fits Barack Obama's description in Pennsylvania.

This is sickening Rove wing politics at it's very worst.

[ElBruce]

She has now admitted she made the whole story up.

[buffyjones]

OOOh conspiracy theory

People truly see what they want to see

[wdw101]

yes just like we are going to steal the election..­.....I've got ohio......­..what state are you stealing