Article published January 08, 2009
'Joe the Plumber' taps new career as war correspondent in Israel
Samuel 'Joe' Wurzelbacher will fly to Israel tonight to report on the war in Gaza for a conservative blog.
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By TOM TROY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER
"Joe the Plumber" is trying out a new career as a war correspondent, beginning this week in Israel.
Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher of Springfield Township, who confronted Barack Obama during a local campaign stop in October, has been hired by Web network PajamasTV to report on the war between Israel and Gaza.
He was scheduled to get his passport and fly to Israel tonight, a spokesman for the former Toledo plumber said yesterday.
"They have hired him on as a regular news correspondent and this is his first assignment," said Tom Tabback, who co-authored Mr. Wurzelbacher's book, Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.
"What they are expecting from him on an ongoing basis is to give the 'regular Joe' perspective on the news, and kind of apply a ... litmus test to what other media may be reporting, what politicians may be saying, which I think is a pretty good fit for him," Mr. Tabback said.
A spokesman for Pajamas Media, based in Virginia, confirmed that Mr. Wurzelbacher will report for them.He may be accompanied by a cameraman, but also will operate the camera himself, the PJTV spokesman said. She said it was not known if he would be able to report from Gaza.
PJTV.com, which describes itself as a network of about 100 bloggers, has a conservative bent.
Mr. Wurzelbacher, 35, was catapulted to fame after he talked with President-elect Obama during the Democratic presidential nominee's unscheduled campaign stop on Mr. Wurzelbacher's street on Oct. 12.
Mr. Wurzelbacher asked about Mr. Obama's plan to raise taxes on incomes over $250,000, saying it threatened his dream of buying a plumbing business. Mr. Obama's response, that it would "spread the wealth," fueled Republican criticism that Mr. Obama planned to raise taxes on small business owners and gave John McCain's presidential campaign new life in the weeks before the election.
Mr. Wurzelbacher quit plumbing work and hit the campaign trail, making appearances for Mr. McCain and GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
At a campaign stop Oct. 28, Mr. Wurzelbacher agreed with an older Jewish McCain supporter who asked him if he believed a vote for Mr. Obama was a vote for the death of Israel.
Later the same day, Mr. Wurzelbacher reinforced his statements on Israel when questioned by reporters.
"I came to that opinion by hard work, actually, by reading books, reading Internet, finding out information. That's my opinion," he said.
Contact Tom Troy at:
tomtroy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6058.
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