On 16 oct, 22:42, wrote:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs...0081016/NEWS09....

'Joe the plumber' isn’t licensed
Local man focus of presidential debate
By LARRY VELLEQUETTE and TOM TROY
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

"Joe the Plumber" isn’t a plumber — at least not a licensed one, or a
registered one.

A check of state and local licensing agencies in Ohio and Michigan
shows no plumbing licenses under Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher’s name, or
even misspellings of his name.

Last night, his name, "Joe the Plumber," came up about two dozen times
in the debate between Mr. Obama and Republican nominee John McCain.

Since last night Mr. Wurzelbacher who lives alone with his 13-year-old
son has been besieged with local and national news media, willingly
granting interviews.

Mr. Wurzelbacher told reporters Thursday morning that he worked for
Newell Plumbing & Heating Co., a small local firm whose business
addresses flow back to several residential homes, including one on
Talmadge Road in Ottawa Hills.

According to Lucas County Building Inspection records, A. W. Newell
Corp. does maintain a state plumbing license, and one with the City of
Toledo, but would not be allowed to work in Lucas County outside of
Toledo without a county license.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he works under Al Newell’s license, but
according to Ohio building regulations, he must maintain his own
license to do plumbing work.

He is also not registered to operate as a plumber in Ohio, which means
he’s not a plumber.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he was hired by Mr. Newell six years ago and
that the possibility of him eventually buying the company was
discussed during his job interview.

He said it’s his understanding he can work under Mr. Newell’s license
as long as the licensed contractor works on the same site.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he is working on taking the Ohio plumbing
contractors’ license test.

Mr. Wulzerbacher’s notoriety has raised the ire of Tom Joseph,
business manager for Local 50 of the United Association of Plumbers,
Steamfitters, and Service Mechanics, who claimed that Mr. Wulzerbacher
didn’t undergo any apprenticeship training.

"When you have guys going out there with no training whatsoever, it’s
a little disreputable to start with," Mr. Joseph said. "We’re the real
Joe the Plumber."

Mr. Joseph said Mr. Wulzerbacher could only legally work in the
townships, but not in any municipality in Lucas County or elsewhere in
the country.

"This individual has got no schooling, no licenses, he’s never been to
a training program, union or non-union, in the United States of
America," Mr. Joseph said.

The association has endorsed Barack Obama, according to Mr. Joseph.

Questions were raised Thursday morning whether Mr. Wurzelbacher is a
registered voter.

Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections,
said a Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher, whose address and age match Joe the
Plumber’s, registered in Lucas County on Sept. 10, 1992. He voted in
his first primary on March 4 of this year, registering as a
Republican.

Ms. Howe said that the name may be misspelled in the database.

Mr. Wurzelbacher, 34, acknowledged during an interview at his home
late Thursday morning that he knows he’s "a flash in the pan," after
his fame spread for an impromptu debate he had in front of his
Springfield Township home with Mr. Obama last Sunday.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he objects to Mr. Obama’s plans to raise income
taxes on incomes above $250,000. He said he makes no where near that
much money but he would not say how much he makes or if he ever
expects to make $250,000. Court records from a divorce show Mr.
Wurzelbacher made $40,000 in 2006.

He said, "Is it right to take someone’s money because they work a
little harder? It’s taking away from someone’s hard work."

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he disagrees with the idea of people being taxed
at a higher rate because they earn more.

"They’re going to take more of your money because you’ve been more
successful," he said.

In January, 2007, the Ohio Department of Taxation placed a lien
against him because $1,183 in personal property taxes had not been
paid, but there has been no action in the case since it was filed.

Mr. Wurzelbacher was playing football in his front yard with his son,
Joey, on Sunday afternoon when Mr. Obama made an unscheduled stop to
go door to door greeting voters and asking for their support.

In his conversation with Mr. Wurzelbacher, Mr. Obama tried to justify
his plan tax breaks to 95 percent of Americans and raise taxes on
incomes above $250,000.

Mr. Obama said his plan would improve the economy for other people
trying to get a start in small business, and "spread the wealth."

The phrase was quickly picked up by conservative bloggers and
commentators saying it reveals a desire to redistributed wealth on the
part of Mr. Obama.

During that same conversation, Mr. Wurzelbacher advocated a flat tax
to Mr. Obama under which everyone would pay the same rate of tax which
was a feature of Mike Huckabee’s unsuccessful campaign for the
Republican nomination this year.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he was surprised by the spread the wealth
phrase.

"That’s a pretty socialist comment. Two-fifty ($250,000) is his number
now. When is it going to be one fifty ($150,000), when it’s going to
be one hundred ($100,000)?"

He continued: "If you believe him, I would be receiving his tax cut,"
adding that he would not want the tax cut.

He won’t say who he will vote for on Nov. 4, but did say he likes
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

He said he was born in the Toledo area, lived until he was 13 in the
Florida Panhandle area, went to Springfield High School, and then
entered the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed at an Air Force base in
Alaska from 1992 until 1995. He said he was honorably discharged.

Mr. Wurzelbacher also said he lived in Arizona from 1997 until 2000.

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

'Joe the Plumber' is focus of presidential debate's first few minutes
From earlier editions of toledoblade.com
By BRIDGET THARP and MARK ZABORNEY
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

The story of "Joe the Plumber" - Joe Wurzelbacher of Shrewsbury Street
in Springfield Township - became a centerpiece of the early minutes of
the presidential debate last night.

And Joe the Plumber became the subject of national and international
interest.

Mr. Wurzelbacher, 34, was more interested in taking in the debate than
in assessing his place in presidential politics.

"Honestly, I'm a small part of it," Mr. Wurzelbacher said. "They're
just using me as an example right now for the American public. I think
they're discussing more important is-sues."

He excused himself so he could finish watching Barack Obama and John
McCain debate.

But after the debate, Mr. Wurzelbacher expressed some embarrassment
that he was now known across America as Joe the Plumber.

"There's a lot more important issues than me, and I'm starting to feel
a little uncomfortable with it," he said. "Everyone's more worried
about what Joe the Plumber has to say than what Obama or McCain has to
say."

While watching the debate at home with his father, he was interrupted
several times by calls from the national media including CNN, Fox
News, and Good Morning America. In addition, CNBC, ABC News, the Wall
Street Journal, the Houston Chronicle, and the BBC called The Blade in
their quest to reach Joe the Plumber.

Mr. Wurzelbacher and Mr. Obama had something of a debate Sunday as the
candidate walked house to house on Shrewsbury at the start of the
candidate's four-day visit in the Toledo area.

He told Mr. Obama that he was trying to buy a plumbing business.

"I'm being taxed more and more for fulfilling the American dream," Mr.
Wurzelbacher said Sunday.

Mr. Obama said, in part, "It's not that I want to punish your success.
I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they
have a chance for success, too.

"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for
everybody."

The exchange was caught on videotape and was broadcast on a variety of
news outlets and put on numerous Web sites, including YouTube.

It was the "spread the wealth around" comment that caught the
attention of conservative commentators, including Rush Limbaugh, and
in discussions on the Internet. Mr. Wurzelbacher was a guest of Fox
News' Neil Cavuto on Tuesday.

During the debate, Mr. McCain challenged Mr. Obama: "Joe wants to buy
the business that he has been in for all of these years, worked 10, 12
hours a day. And he wanted to buy the business, but he looked at your
tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes."

"You were going to put him in a higher tax bracket which was going to
increase his taxes, which was going to cause him not to be able to
employ people, which Joe was trying to realize the American dream,"
Mr. McCain said.

Mr. McCain then looked directly into the television camera and said:
"Joe, I want to tell you, I'll not only help you buy that business
that you worked your whole life for and I'll keep your taxes low and
I'll provide available and affordable health care for you and your
employees. And I will not stand for a tax increase on small-business
income."

Mr. Obama denied that was true.

"Not only do 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000,
but I also want to give them additional tax breaks because they are
the drivers of the economy," Mr. Obama said. "They produce the most
jobs."

Mr. Wurzelbacher came up again when the debate turned to a discussion
of health-care policies.

Mr. McCain charged that Mr. Obama's plan would fine the company Mr.
Wurzelbacher wanted to buy; Mr. Obama said small businesses were
exempt.

"Hey Joe, you're rich. Congratulations," Mr. McCain said mockingly.

Mr. Obama didn't win Mr. Wurzelbacher's support on Sunday, and he
didn't change his mind last night.

He did allow, "Obama, you can't take away that he's a damn good
speaker."

Overall, though, ...

plus de détails »

Now the Democrat party will try and have him arrested on some phony
charge.