May 05, 2010

Joe the Plumber turns Joe the Pol

10:31 AM

By Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Remember Joe the Plumber? He's Joe the Politician now.

The guy who became an overnight sensation of the 2008 presidential campaign ascended to political office Tuesday, winning election as a Republican committeeman for northwest Ohio's Lucas County.

"Joe," whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher, was was caught on tape asking pointed questions about Barack Obama's tax policy when the then-Democratic nominee was canvassing his Ohio neighborhood -- and promptly got adopted as a political mascot by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Obama's opponent.

Apparently, the close encounter with politics whetted Wurzelbacher's appetite for more.

He has written a book and hit the political speaking circuit, including Tea Party rally in Cincinnati last month.

The Associated Press reports that Wurzelbacher won a spot on the Lucas County Republican committee by a 38-23 vote in his suburban Toledo precinct. That makes him one of nearly 400 committee members who set the agenda and pick a chairman for the local party.

This may represent a consolation prize. For awhile, there was an online effort to get the plumber to take the plunge (Sorry! Couldn't resist) and run for Congress against Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a veteran Toledo Democrat.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... -the-pol/1