Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. He was 49. Pancreatic cancer got him.
Mr. Wurzelbacher was better known as “Joe the Plumber”.
Wurzelbacher, the owner of a plumbing business at the time, rose to national acclaim when he confronted Obama at a 2008 campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, accusing the Democratic presidential candidate’s tax plan of conflicting with the American dream.
Obama countered that the plan would help small businesses grow more quickly.
It seems like this event was a quaint interlude in politics compared to things going on today. I am sorry for his families loss, of course and wish them peace while they deal with their grief, although knowing the state of affairs today, it is likely that the news media will have a say in the kind of grieving that they are allowed. It will be based upon whether or not President Biden has a bad day or makes some kind of gaff that needs media cover.
If only the most interesting thing about our current presidential race were when someone confronted a candidate about their proposed policy. Unfortunately that no longer is enough to win elections, the need to attempt to drive a stake through the heart of your most difficult opponent is clearly needed, it seems. It remains to be seen whether the move to indict former president Trump and rush him to trial will work or will backfire. My money is on it backfiring, although I no longer trust the elections given some of the recent disclosures here in my own city of Muskegon, MI.