Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known by the nickname "Joe the Plumber", is an American conservative activist and commentator. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by then-Democratic-nominee Senator Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his small business tax policy. Obama's response included the statement, "when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Obama's response was seized upon by conservative media, as well as by Obama's rival, Republican nominee Senator John McCain, as an indication that Obama was interested in the redistribution of wealth and had a socialist view of the economy. Wurzelbacher is a member of the Republican Party. Since he expressed to then Senator Obama that he was interested in purchasing a small plumbing business, Wurzelbacher was given the moniker "Joe the Plumber" by the McCain?Palin campaign. The campaign subsequently took him to make several appearances in campaign events in Ohio and McCain often referenced "Joe the Plumber" in campaign speeches and in the final presidential debate, as a metaphor for middle-class Americans. 

December 3rd, 1973 in Toledo  /  Died:   Aug 27th, 2023