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Opinion: Joe the traitor now flushing good friend John McCain

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Maybe you remember Joe the Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber who so sincerely quizzed a campaigning Barack Obama on a Toledo cul-de-sac that his videotaped answers about the Democrat’s damaging ‘tax cuts’ attracted the opportunistic eye of Republican John McCain’s aides.

Obama, apparently thinking Joe was genuinely concerned about the tax cuts’ effect on his professed dream to someday own a small plumbing business, provided a full answer that included mention of redistributing wealth.

The GOP senator promptly took the occasion of the next debate to make Joseph an instant national celebrity as the ultimate regular guy (who’s about 6-2, bald and a little behind in some taxes), opining on tax policies, etc., who’d be hurt by Obama’s plan.

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And McCain invited him to ride the campaign bus, apparently thinking Joe was genuinely concerned about the tax cuts’ effect on his professed dream to someday own a small plumbing business.

And Joe got to meet Sarah Palin and speak at rallies to large cheering crowds and be interviewed lots of times like a real celeb. Perhaps that was a lot more entertaining than fixing plugged toilets. (And you don’t need a license to do it.)

Joe seemed to really like the campaign. He said he did anyway. But now Joe’s writing a book, or maybe a book’s being written with Joe’s name on it, that Joe says is going to analyze the 2008 campaign and his role in it. About time too.

So Joe’s out promoting himself and the unfinished book already on Glenn Beck’s radio show (audio tape below). Don’t tell Joe but, frankly, he’s museum-grade history as far as 2008 politics are concerned.

But he’s still out there talking. Joe admits he’s a little more educated than other people about politics. So his insights are worth more. He finds Palin to be ‘the real deal.’

But Joe says after talking with McCain in depth on the bus and quizzing him in depth about the bailouts that Joe doesn’t like and neither does McCain if they’ve got pork though he voted for it, which Joe apparently doesn’t like. Joe says he was ‘appalled’ at some of the things he saw in politics.

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Joe promises the Democrats are really gonna like what he has to say about the Arizona senator they already beat. But Glenn didn’t tell him that part.

Joe said he felt dirty after being on the bus with politicians and wanted to get off. Glenn asks the obvious question: So why didn’t you?

Joe thinks a second to find an answer, which Democrats won’t like.

(Hat Tips to old pal Jimmy Orr over at the refreshing VoteBlog and the always insightful LittleGreenFootballs.)

The interview tape is available for bipartisan listening below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Even someone as smart as Joe needs cellphone alerts on each new Ticket item; just register here. RSS feeds are also available here. And Amazon has Ticket Kindle feeds as well.

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