Many of those following the 2008 Presidential Election found themselves resigned to sheer annoyance every time the spectre of "Joe the Plumber" popped up in the discussion.
Joe the Plumber, whose real name is Joe Wurzelbacher, was picked out of a debate audience by John McCain.
Following that brief brush with greatness, Joe the Plumber simply refused to go away quietly, becoming something of a conservative media darling, despite the fact that he repeatedly showed himself to have nothing to contribute.
Apparently, all the attention has made Wurzelbacher's life somewhat uncomfortable, and he blames McCain for it.
“I don’t owe him shit. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it,” Wurzelbacher complained. “McCain was trying to use me. I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy.”
The thing that Wurzelbacher seems to forget to mention is that he wasn't the "face of middle Americans" until McCain elevated him into the national spotlight.
Furthermore, McCain didn't force Wurzelbacher into his ill-fated role with Pajamas Media, in which he demonstrated precisely how ill-suited to journalism he is.
If Joe Wurzelbacher's life has been screwed up by his public prominence as Joe the Plumber, it's Wurzelbacher himself who screwed it up. He certainly did more than enough to embarrass himself since being hoisted into the media spotlight.
Agreed. It was better for him to have said as little as possible during the campaign.
ReplyDeleteA few photo ops and fade away, instead he allowed himself to become exposed after numerous interviews on his views.
The term self-inflicted comes to mind.
McCain made him famous, and then he dedicated himself to remaining famous.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of ridiculous for him to complain now.