Joe the Plumber is ... not a Plumber -- and his Name is Sam

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher of Holland, OH is the "Joe" of "Joe the Plumber" fame. Yes, the average Joe made famous during the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday night is really a ... Sam. And this discrepancy is not the first issue that has cropped up about the country's latest media celebrity. Apparently, the pipes of Joe's story have gotten a little clogged, sprung a leak, lost a washer -- um, you get the point.

Apparently, Joe is not a licensed plumber and he owes $1200 in back taxes -- according to court records, anyway. No wonder Joe was so worried about Barack Obama's tax plan -- Joe was already in hot water with the tax man. Joe's 15 minutes of fame are about over -- thank God -- though the press was sure hot on his tail today. Wurzelbacher also figured prominently in tonight's special Thursday edition of SNL's Weekend Update and debate spoof. And he got the impressive cultural distinction of inspiring a Top Ten List -- the icing on any shooting star's cake of infamy. From David Letterman's Home Office on Thursday Night, folks, here it is:

Top Ten Messages left on Joe the Plumber's Answering Machine

10) Heard you mentioned in the debate last night, now can you get the hairball out of my drain?

9) This is Joe Sixpack calling -- what are you trying to pull?

8) Sorry, wrong number. I was looking fof Larry the Cable Guy.

7) Dude, did you get to meet Fannie Mae?

6) This is Sarah Palin. Do you consider yourself to be a Maverick plumber?

5) You had a better night than Joe the Dodgers' manager.

4) This is Bob Schieffer. Hijack my show again and I will bust your kneecaps with a tire iron.

3) You've got to get a copy of the Late Night Show's Fun Facts, it's hilarious.

2) It' Brian from The Late Show. Are you available tonight if McCain cancels?

1) It's Madonna. Are you seeing anybody?

Also from the annals of late night: while Joe Biden visited The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, John McCain finally showed up on The Late Show with David Letterman Thursday night -- after dissing him a few weeks back. When Letterman bluntly asked, "So what happened?" McCain simply answered, "I screwed up!" Boy Howdy, Maverick, did you ever. Letterman filleted you after you tossed him over for -- of all people -- Katie Couric. Big mistake. Huge.

Letterman proceeded to grill the Arizona senator about his vice presidential pick -- McCain admitted again that he didn't know Sarah Palin when he selected her, that they had simply met on a few occasions -- and the host was clearly incredulous about the Palin decision. Letterman also grilled McCain about the whole William Ayers issue -- and made McCain squirm when he was asked about a McCain fundraiser G. Gordon Liddy had at his home in 1998. The Letterman interview really was entertaining to watch -- almost as good as an Olbermann Special Comment!

By the way, after all this hubbub about good ol' Joe, McCain admitted to Letterman that the Republican candidate had not yet spoken to Wurzelbacher, and apologized for the media attention the wannabe plumber had received. Game over, folks.

Fact Checking Joe the Plumber

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