Joe the Plumber is Now Joe the Author

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the presidential campaign fixture and John McCain advocate better known as Joe the Plumber, won't have to open his own plumbing business just yet: he has signed a deal to write "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream." PearlGate Publishing, a small publisher in Austin, Tex., announced the book on its Web site, pearlgatepublishing.com.

No, it isn't just you. Pearlgate Publishing does sound kinda dirty, and this story does sound familiar. HuffPo brags that they scooped the Times by almost a week, but our own David Knowles beat them both to the punch, reporting the deal a full week before Huffington did. Still, since neither HuffPo nor The Political Machine has a bestseller list, this is a score for Samuel the Pipe-Dickerer.

Joe says he went with the small publisher to "spread the wealth," since larger publishers don't need the money. No, I'm not kidding. Plus, he has a "co-author." Does that mean Joe rambles into a tape recorder while some other guy does the writing? I guess Joe is a "writer" in the same way that he's a "plumber."

Even though the book has a working title, I think Joe's tome lends itself to an already-popular book franchise. The possibilities are endless for a Joe the Plumber series of "For Dummies" books. I want to hear some of your suggestions. Here are some of mine, plus something that Joe and I finally agree about.

I'm really gonna need your help, because mine are all like "Hateful Smearing on Behalf of Presidential Candidates For Dummies," or "Talking a Bunch of Sh*t Then Refusing to Explain Yourself For Dummies," which don't fit well on a book cover.

Try to keep 'em snappy and to the point.

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Joe's. My problem isn't with his entitlement to his opinion, but with the dishonesty and whining with which he garnishes it. Oh, and the vicious smearing didn't help, either. First, he whined to Obama about a tax he didn't have to pay, on a business he had no chance of buying, and then he whined about the media as he accosted anything with a lens or a microphone.

However, this story has finally given me the long-awaited opportunity to come to Joe's vociferous defense. From HuffPo:

One of the hilarious -- and sad! -- parts of Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher's recent interview with CNN's Rick Sanchez was that moment where an exasperated J.T. Plumber whined at Sanchez, "Well, ask good questions then! Why don't you ask what I'm going to do now?" Awww! See, Joe The Plumber wasn't interested in being asked to account for whatever pseudo-intellectual swill was worming its way through his brain when he went out on the stump, with all of his opinions. No, no! Joe The Plumber just wanted to use the forum as a way of plugging all of his upcoming projects, like any good little fame-whore!

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am completely sincere when I say this: Step away from the fame whore!

There is nothing wrong with a little self promotion. Or even a lot of self-promotion, for that matter. I may not like Joe the Plumber, or anything he has to say, but I defend to the death his right to shill it into any TV camera that points at him. That's the America I know and love.


Tommy Christopher and Caleb Howe co-host "Unusable Signal",on BlogTalkRadio, Tues through Thurs at 10pm, and Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.