Say it ain't so... Sam

Better be ready for your fifteen minutes of fame.

And that includes the paperwork.

Turns out that "Joe the plumber" -- the object of some twenty-odd mentions in last night's third presidential debate doesn't actually have a license to practice plumbing. And his real name is actually Sam.

According to Reuters:

The morning after he emerged as the unexpected star of Wednesday evening's U.S. presidential debate, Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher of Holland, Ohio, found himself at the center of a media frenzy, with reporters camped out on his front lawn and his phone ringing off the hook.

But it wasn't long before the Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics revealed that Wurzelbacher was not a licensed member of their trade.

"That means that he has not completed the training program necessary for him to sit for a license test," said Tony Herrera, market recovery specialist for Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50 in Toledo, Ohio.

"It's a shame that this guy has ended up in this situation because it seems like he's misrepresented himself -- and for that matter the plumbing and pipefitting industry."

Without a license, Wurzelbacher cannot practice in the city of Toledo but can work for someone with a master's license or in outlying areas that do not require a license, Herrera said.

Wurzelbacher, 34, listed in the phone directory as Samuel, did not answer his phone and his voicemail box appeared to be full.

Licensed plumbers in his area are not taking this silently...

For their part, the plumbers at the Local 50 union hall said they would love to find a job that would give them the kind of income Wurzelbacher is worried about being taxed by Obama.

"If there's a plumber or pipefitter making more than $250,000, we want to know where he's working," Herrera said with a laugh. "We don't make that kind of money."

The plumber's union, like almost all labor groups in America, backs the Democratic Party.

"The real Joe the Plumber supports Barack Obama," Herrera said.

Joe -- er, Sam -- wouldn't say who he was going to vote for, but he seemed to be leaning hard to McCain, saying he was "outraged" by Obama's plan and that he was against any form of graduated income tax. Of course, the McCain tax plan like those advocated by virtually all mainstream Republicans is such a graduated plan but Republicans tend to favor various tax reductions for the very wealthiest Americans with the idea that such tax cuts will help prosperity "trickle down" to middle and lower class taxpayers.

But in the last 8 years under the "trickle down" policies of George W. Bush (supported by John McCain), the gap between the wealthy and the middle and lower classes has widened precipitously.