Joe The Plumber Hires Eddie Money's Publicity Team, Eyes Book

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Like all good celebrities, Joe the Plumber has hired a publicity team.

The Press Office in Nashville, where clients include rockers Grand Funk Railroad and Eddie Money, will help him handle the flood of interview and appearance requests that have poured in since he was mentioned during a presidential debate and quickly became a household name.

"It's like any other celebrity who is in the public eye," said Jim Della Croce, who owns the agency. "There needs to be someone acting as a clearinghouse and interpreting the opportunities and coordinating the media requests, and he truly is being inundated."

Despite rumors to the contrary, he's not planning to release an album, though a book is in the works.

"He's not doing a country record," Della Croce said flatly Thursday. "I think that was an angle that was presumptuous."

Joe the Plumber, whose real name is Samuel J. "Joe" Wurzelbacher, 34, of Ohio, gained national attention when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told him during a campaign stop that he wanted to "spread the wealth around."

Their exchange about Obama's tax plan aired countless times on cable news programs. Republican nominee John McCain repeatedly cited Joe the Plumber in a debate, saying Obama's plan would hurt people like him who want to own their own businesses.

Wurzelbacher campaigned for the Republican ticket on his own bus tour around Ohio this week and appeared with Sarah Palin on Wednesday. His name comes up at just about every GOP rally.

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But with the election next week, what's next?

A lot of things are too premature to talk about, Della Croce said, but a book is already planned.

"Certainly Joe will go down in history and will be a celebrity regardless of which way the election turns," Della Croce said. "He is a curiosity. He's touched a nerve with the common man, and people are curious as to what's on his mind. I think he speaks for a lot of people."

So many, apparently, that he needs three managers at The Press Office, among them country singer Aaron Tippin. Wurzelbacher met Tippin, also a McCain supporter, when they appeared on former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's Fox News talk show.

The media scrutiny hasn't always been kind to Wurzelbacher, who turned out to be an unlicensed plumber with unpaid back taxes.

At first, Wurzelbacher insisted he wanted no part of the spotlight and predicted he'd be a small footnote in the campaign.

"I'm a flash in the pan, a novelty. It's going to be a fun couple of days," he said.

It has lasted much longer.

Della Croce has managed rock stars, but Joe the Plumber is a special case.

"Never in 25 years have I seen this level of interest in a celebrity," Della Croce said.

___

Associated Press Writer John Seewer contributed to this story from Toledo, Ohio.

Comments

[marygza]

OMG!!! This has to be the longest fifteeen minutes in history. When did time stop?

[littlepuffycloud]

LOL

[crws]

"How the right found it's light" featuring Sarah "Hockey Pit Bull" Palin & Sam "joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher.
In this episode- You too can run for office in 2012: Dumb, Dude & Dumber socialize over a 6 pack.

[bigmacha]

Who really cares what this doofus says! If ever there was an example of the unintelligent, uninformed being sought for their opinion this is it. I am truly amazed at the amount of attention this clown has received from the MSM. However, at the same time, it does not amaze me that the McCain/Palin base find him so attractive: he knows nothing, he spouts misinformation, and most importantly, he votes against his own self interests.

If Joe the Plumber is representative of what America is all about then there is no doubt in my mind that China will not only eat our lunch but our dinner too. Joe the Plumber as an icon means that the American era is over and we are about to reap the reward of an electorate that neglected to open a book while in school and thinks that Dancing With The Stars is more important then a civics lesson.

[dfranz]

Will this phoney plumber please just go away? He wasn't there for McCain last night I guess he gone all mavrickey too. Poor McCain nothing seems to work.

[littlepuffycloud]

Eddie Money needs a new publicist! Pack your bags and we'll leave tonight, Dude.

[andban]

This guy will set back white men as well as Palin setting back women... and I read somewhere where he drives the sewage truck... only helps with backed up toilets

[Grannysue]

So he's writing a book about how a wanna be plumber who doesn't pay his taxes, get's fiftteen minutes of fame and then drift into obscurity?

[susanowhite]

He says he does not support social security ("I can take care of my parents"), which should make him even more popular with the middle class and with Grannies.

[bonchesva]

How in the h*ll does this guy have the money for this!? If it is true that he has not paid taxes, why hasn't the IRS brought charges against him?

[IndySC]

If I was a Republican partisan, I would be very worried about my party when they're choosing their representation American Idol style (...or in Joe's case, American Idle).

Are there any Republicans who talk about policy anymore? Are there any Republicans who even understand or care about policy issues? Are there any Republicans who even know what is meant by the word 'policy'?

[surfcitysteven]

Tuesday was a slow day at the shop, so I got into the parts truck and drove to a site that we had won the bid on. Mark was our ace plumber and he had asked me to bring out a "Johny ring". A Johny ring is a wax ring that goes on the bottom of a toilet to keep the water from seeping out. Without it a toilet isn't going to work. Imagine that! A 98 cent item is all that keeps a 200 dollar toilet from leaking like a sieve! Mark was waiting for me as I arrived. "Hi, Joe the Plumber!" he kidded me as I wasn't really a plumber yet but more of a parts guy. But I like to dream big...

I can hardly wait till it comes out in paperback.

[QueenOfViolets]

Eddie Money?

So Joe the Plumber now wants to become a has-been from the eighties?

This guy is comedy on legs.

[ivanap]

What does this say about the McCain Camp and the Republican Party? Really?

Joe:
1.) Stated he is a plumber - Truth is he is unlicensed so he has actually been violating state law by charging for his services
2.) Stated he was going to by his bosses company - Truth is, he and his boss have never actually discussed this in any real detail nor is his boss looking to sell.
3.) He stated that the company would make over $250,000 per year raising his taxes 3% a year under Obama - Truth is, the best year the company ever had was having made $100,000 which is a far cry from $250,000.
4.) He currently has liens against him for significant back taxes unpaid.

All in all, it would appear that "Joe the Plumber" is literally one of those un-liscensed contractors we have all been taken advantage of, a tax evader and a liar. Is this really who the Republicans and John McCain thinks the average person in the US is? Do they really think that he is an example of who we all are?

I, and I hope all Republicans are insulted by this. And to make this LOSER a celebrity is worse than making Paris Hilton one.

[Abby1]

You are absolutely right.....­....this "Joe The Plumber" image is an insult and I cannot understand why the McCain campaign and the Republicans are so gungho on this image. The "Joe The Plumber" image represents lots of lies.

[don19wil49]

Just maybe. Old Joe is laying pipe to the Alaskan

[javaman]

what is he going to enlighten us about? the various and mysterious ways to thread a 1/2 in pipe?

[borgo]

Looks like somebody beat him to it...

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Plumbing-Terry/dp/002863893X