A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.

Methods[link]

Their jobs require war correspondents to deliberately go to the most conflict-ridden parts of the world. Once there they attempt to get close enough to the action to provide written accounts, photos, or film footage. Thus, being a war correspondent is often considered the most dangerous form of journalism. On the other hand, war coverage is also one of the most successful branches of journalism. Newspaper sales increase greatly in wartime and television news ratings go up. News organizations have sometimes been accused of militarism because of the advantages they gather from conflict. William Randolph Hearst is often said to have encouraged the Spanish-American War for this reason. (See Yellow journalism)

Only some conflicts receive extensive worldwide coverage, however. Among recent wars, the Kosovo War received a great deal of coverage, as did the Persian Gulf War. Many third-world wars, however, tend to receive less substantial coverage because corporate media are often less interested, the lack of infrastructure makes reporting more difficult and expensive, and the conflicts are also far more dangerous for war correspondents.

History[link]

Battle council on the De Zeven Provinciën by Willem van de Velde the Elder. The prelude to the Four Days Battle in 1666.

Written war correspondents have existed as long as journalism. Before modern journalism it was more common for longer histories to be written at the end of a conflict. The first known of these is Herodotus's account of the Persian Wars, however he did not himself participate in the events. Thucydides, who some years later wrote a history of the Peloponnesian Wars was an observer to the events he described.

The first modern war correspondent is said to be Dutch painter Willem van de Velde, who in 1653 took to sea in a small boat to observe a naval battle between the Dutch and the English, of which he made many sketches on the spot, which he later developed into one big drawing that he added to a report he wrote to the States General. A further modernization came with the development of newspapers and magazines . One of the earliest war correspondents was Henry Crabb Robinson, who covered Napoleon's campaigns in Spain and Germany for The Times of London.

Crimean War[link]

William Howard Russell, who covered the Crimean War, also for The Times, is often described as the first modern war correspondent. The stories from this era, which were almost as lengthy and analytical as early books on war, took numerous weeks from being written to being published.

Russo-Japanese War[link]

Western military attachés and war correspondents with the Japanese forces after the Battle of Shaho in 1904.

It was not until the telegraph was developed that reports could be sent on a daily basis and events could be reported as they occurred that the short mainly descriptive stories of today became common. Press coverage of the Russo-Japanese War was affected by restrictions on the movement of reporters and strict censorship. In all military conflicts which followed this 1904-1905 war, close attention to more managed reporting was considered essential.^[1]

First World War[link]

The First World War was characterized by rigid censorship. British Lord Kitchener hated reporters, and resolved in 1914 to make their jobs difficult if not impossible. French authorities were equally opposed to war journalism, but less competent (criticisms of the French high command were leaked to the press during the Battle of Verdun in 1916). By far the most rigid and authoritarian regime was imposed by the United States, though General John J. Pershing allowed embedded reporters (Floyd Gibbons was severely wounded at Belleau Wood in 1918). The discourse in mediated conflicts is influenced by its public character. By forwarding information and arguments to the media, conflict parties attempt to gain support from their constituencies and persuade their opponents.^[2] The continued progress of technology has allowed live coverage of events via satellite up-links. The rise of twenty-four hour news channels has led to a heightened demand for coverage.

Early film and television news rarely had war correspondents. Rather they would simply collect footage provided by other sources, often the government, and the news anchor would then add narration. This footage was often staged as cameras were large and bulky. This changed dramatically with the Vietnam War when networks from around the world sent cameramen with portable cameras and correspondents. This proved damaging to the United States as the full brutality of war became a daily feature on the nightly news.

Notable war correspondents[link]

Some of them became authors of fiction drawing on their war experiences, including Davis, Crane and Hemingway.

19th century[link]

• Kit Coleman first female war correspondent
• George Wingrove Cooke, Second Opium War, 1857-1858.
• Thomas Bowlby, North China Campaign 1860.
• Archibald Forbes
• Stephen Crane (1871–1900); covered the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, where he contracted tuberculosis.
• Howard C. Hillegas, covered Boer Wars
• William Howard Russell
• Frederic Villiers
• Benjamin C. Truman

20th century[link]

• Ralph Barnes (1899–1940); the first war correspondent killed during World War II
• Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett (1881–1931); covered the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.
• Bill Boss (1917–2007) Canadian war correspondent, for the Canadian Press, who covered World War II.
• Alexandra Boulat
• Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971); first female war correspondent, photographed Buchenwald concentration camp
• Mary Marvin Breckinridge (1905–2002); covered World War II.
• Wilfred Burchett (1911–1983); covered the Pacific War, Korean War and Vietnam War. He was known for covering news from the "other side" of the battlefield, and was often criticised of being a communist sympathiser.
• Larry Burrows
• Robert Capa (1913–1954); covered the Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, the European Theatre of World War II and the First Indochina War (where he was killed by a landmine).
• Dickey Chapelle (1918–1965); covered the Pacific War, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the Vietnam War (where she was killed by a landmine). She was the first female US war correspondent to be killed in action.
• Greg Clarke (1892–1977) Canadian war correspondent who covered World War I and II.
• Basil Clarke (1879–1947); covered the fighting on the Western Front during WWI.
• Alexander Clifford, covered World War II
• Burton Crane (1901–1963); covered occupied Japan after World War II and the Korean War for the New York Times.
• Walter Cronkite (1916–2009); covered the European Theater during World War II for United Press.
• Neil Davis - Australian combat cameraman covered the Vietnam War, Cambodia and Laos and subsequently conflicts in Africa.
• Albert K. Dawson (1885–1967); American photographer and film correspondent with the German, Austrian and Bulgarian army during the First World War
• Luc Delahaye
• Richard Dimbleby (1913–1965); covered World War II
• David Douglas Duncan
• Kurt Eggers (-1943) World War II SS correspondent, editor of the SS magazine Das Schwarze Korps, was killed while reporting on the Wiking's battles near Kharkov. The German SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers was named in his honor.
• Gloria Emerson (1929–2004); covered the Vietnam War.
• Bernard B. Fall (1926–1967); covered the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War (where he was killed by a landmine).
• Sylvana Foa, correspondent in Vietnam and Cambodia
• J.C. Furnas; covered World War II.
• Joseph L. Galloway (born November 13, 1941), UPI correspondent in Vietnam and co-author of We Were Soldiers Once...and Young.
• Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998); covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II, Vietnam War, the Six-Day War and even the U.S. invasion of Panama.
• Georgie Anne Geyer (born 1935); covered the Guatemalan Civil War and the Algerian Civil War.
• Philip Gibbs; Official war Correspondent for Britain during the First World War.
• Nakayama Gishu^[3]
• Al Gore (born 1948); covered the Vietnam War.
• Henry Tilton Gorrell (1911–1958); United Press correspondent. Covered the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Author of "Soldier of the Press, Covering the Front in Europe and North Africa, 1936-1943" published by the University of Missouri Press, 2009.^[4]
• Cork Graham (born 1964); imprisoned in Vietnam for illegally entering the country while looking for treasure buried by Captain Kidd.
• Louis Grondijs (1878–1961); covered Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the Russian Civil War, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Spanish Civil War.
• Corra Harris early women correspondent in World War I.
• David Halberstam
• Macdonald Hastings
• Max Hastings
• Ron Haviv
• Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961); covered the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
• Michael Herr
• Marguerite Higgins; paved the way for female war correspondents.
• Johannes-Matthias Hönscheid; covered World War II, only correspondent to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• Clare Hollingworth covered World War II, Algerian War, Vietnam War
• Philip Jones Griffiths
• Aernout van Lynden
• Gary Knight
• Larry LeSueur, CBS radio correspondent, reported from rooftops during World War II London blitzes, went ashore in the first waves of the D-Day invasion, and broadcast to America the Allied liberation of Paris.
• Jim G. Lucas, Scripps-Howard Newspapers, reported human interest stories from the front lines in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
• Alexander Gault MacGowan, (1894–1970), correspondent for The Sun (New York), reported from the front lines in World War II.
• Anne O'Hare McCormick
• Don McCullin
• Alan Moorehead, covered World War II
• Christopher Morris
• Ralph Morse, (born 1917) covered World War II
• Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965) Covered the Blitz in London and the European Theater during World War II.
• James Nachtwey
• George Sessions Perry (1910–1956) Covered WWII for Harper's Weekly and Saturday Evening Post. He accompanied troops on the invasions of Italy and France. Said after the war that his war experiences "de-fictionalized" him for life, and he never wrote fiction again.
• Roy Pinney (1911–2010) covered World War II and was present at the Normandy landing on D-Day for the Normandy Invasion. He also covered the Yom Kippur War in the Gaza Strip and conflicts in Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Africa and Colombia.
• Jessie Pope was a pro war journalist and poet during the first world war.
• Ernie Pyle, Scripps-Howard Newspapers, reported human interest stories from the front lines in World War II, Pulitzer Prize, 1944
• John Reed, (1887–1920) covered the Mexican Revolution, the First World War, and the Russian Revolution, author of Ten Days that Shook the World
• Sydney Schanberg, his experiences in Cambodia during the Vietnam War are dramatized in The Killing Fields
• Sigrid Schultz
• Robert Sherrod, World War II, Pacific theatre, Guadacanal and Tarawa/Saipan
• William L. Shirer
• Richard Tregaskis, author of Guadalcanal Diary, dramatized in movie of same name.
• Osmar White
• Eric Lloyd Williams
• Chester Wilmot
• Edgar Rice Burroughs, WWII--covered the attack on Pearl Harbor. Became one of the oldest war correspondents ever.
• Paul Wood, BBC defense correspondent in the Middle East covering the Arab World since 2003

21st century[link]

• Richard Engel; covered the Iraq War and the 2006 Lebanon War.
• Robert Fisk
• Kevin Sites
• Nir Rosen; covered the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan (2001-present).
• Sangho Ted Tae; covered the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan (2001-present).
• Dexter Filikins covered the Iraq War.
• Jason Feldman covered the Iraq War.

General[link]

• Kate Adie (born 1945); covered the Gulf War, Yugoslav Wars, Rwandan Genocide and the Sierra Leone Civil War.
• Christiane Amanpour (born 1958); covered the Gulf War and the Bosnian War.
• Peter Arnett (born 1934); covered the Vietnam War, 1991 Gulf War, the 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Iraq War.
• Martin Bell (born 1938); covered the Vietnam War, Biafra War, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Angolan Civil War and the Bosnian War.
• Mile Cărpenişan (born August 23, 1975 – died March 22, 2010) covered the Iraq war and Kosovo war
• Peter Cave (born 1952); covered the Gulf War, Yugoslav Wars, the Coconut War in the New Hebrides , Iraq War, Tiananmen Square , Lebanon , Egypt and Libya
• Patrick Chauvel
• Anderson Cooper, at age of 42, a renowned War correspondent serving CNN.
• Alex Crawford, covered the Libyan civil war for Sky News.
• Winston Churchill (1874–1965); covered the Siege of Malakand, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War.
• Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916); covered the Spanish-American War, Second Boer War and the fighting on the Macedonian front during World War I.
• Lady Florence Dixie (1855–1905); covered the First Boer War^[5]
• Roy Pinney (1911-2010) covered World War II and was present at the Normandy landing on D-Day for the Normandy Invasion. He also covered the Yom Kippur War in the Gaza Strip and conflicts in Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Africa and Colombia. Among the approximately 500 war correspondents covering the Normandy Invasion Roy Pinney is the oldest living survivor. Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes fame is also among the oldest survivors.
• Robert Fisk (born 1946); covered the Lebanese Civil War, the Iranian Revolution, Iran–Iraq War, the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Algerian Civil War, Kosovo War and the 2003 Iraq War.
• Peggy Hull (1889–1967) covered Mexican-American War, World War I and World War II
• Ryszard Kapuściński
• Helen Kirkpatrick (1909–1997) covered World War II including The Blitz, Normandy Invasion and Liberation of France.
• Rick Leventhal (born 1960) covered the wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya
• George Lewis NBC News Vietnam War 1970-1973
• Terry Lloyd
• Anthony Loyd
• Karen Maron
• Waldemar Milewicz
• Kenji Nagai
• Remy Ourdan
• Arturo Pérez-Reverte, worked for Pueblo newspaper and Spanish TVE. Covered the Bosnian War among others.
• Robert Young Pelton Best known for his 1000+ page guide to warzones and survival, The World's Most Dangerous Places.
• John Pilger
• Dan Rather
• Anna Politkovskaya
• Joe Sacco comics artist who covered the Gulf War and Bosnian War
• Morley Safer
• Chris Hedges
• Kurt Schork
• Sylvester "Harry" Scovell influential yellow journalist in Spanish-American War
• Giuliana Sgrena
• John Simpson
• Daniel Smith
• Michael Ware (born 1969); ongoing coverage of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Reporting from the perspectives of all combatant groups.
• Trevor Watson (born 1953, Sydney, Australia) the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Cambodia, military rebellion in Fiji, Tiananmen Square
• Kate Webb
• Rod Williams Hall of Fame broadcaster covered Vietnam War^[6]
• Michael Yon (born 1964); Former Green Beret, turned journalist and author. Embedded with American, British and Lithuanian combat units in Iraq War and Afghanistan War.
• Jacques Leslie, Vietnam and Cambodia War correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, 1972–1973, 1975. Leslie was the first American journalist to enter and return from Viet Cong (National Liberation Front) territory in South Vietnam, in January 1973.^[7]

Books by war correspondents[link]

• Witnesses to War Fay Anderson and Richard Trembath
• The Secret Life of War by Peter Beaumont
• "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" by Chris Hedges
• Anyone Here Been Raped and Speaks English by Edward Behr
• "Danger Close" by Michael Yon
• The Face of War by Martha Gellhorn
• "Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World" by Nir Rosen
• Dispatches by Michael Herr
• The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuściński
• "A Small Corner of Hell:Dispatches from Chechnya" by Anna Politkovskaya
• "Moment of truth in Iraq" by Michael Yon
• "The Forever War" by Dexter Filkins
• Generation Kill by Evan Wright
• "My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and Its Aftermath" by Seymour Hersh
• "The Massacre at El Mozote" by Mark Danner
• "Seasons in Hell: Understanding Bosnia's War" by Ed Vulliamy
• My War Gone By, I Miss It So by Anthony Loyd
• Unreasonable Behaviour: An Autobiography by Don McCullin
• Soldier of the Press: Covering the Front in Europe and North Africa, 1936-1943 by Henry T. Gorrell
• Dispatches from War, memoirs" by Anderson Cooper
• "The Mark: A War Correspondent's Memoir of Vietnam and Cambodia" by Jacques Leslie
• "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" by Philip Gourevitch

See also[link]

Journalism portal

• Breathing (memorial sculpture)
• Embedded journalism
• List of foreign correspondents in the Spanish Civil War
• Military journalism
• Press pool
• War correspondents 1942–1943
• Category:War correspondents

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Stephen D. Reese, Stephen D., Oscar H. Gandy and August E. Grant. (2001). Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Maywah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. 10-ISBN 0-8058-3653-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-8058-3653-0; OCLC 46383772

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: War correspondents

• War Correspondents: A Book Bibliography
• A statistical analysis of journalists killed in Iraq since hostilities began in March 2003
• ['Covering D-Day: An Allied Journalist's Perspective' – a report written by David J. Marcou for British Heritage magazine's website, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, dealing with media coverage of the Normandy Landings, on and/or around June 6, 1944.]
• Biographical dictionary of 24,000+ British and Irish journalists who died between 1800 and 1960

Steve Harrigan is a television news correspondent who worked on foreign assignments for CNN News before joining Fox News as a Middle East correspondent in October 2001. His home is in Miami, Florida.^[1]

Harrigan reported on Hurricane Katrina from Gulfport, Mississippi; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; and on conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. Before working at Fox, he was at CNN in Moscow "where he reported from inside the Kremlin when then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned in 1991, and covered the Chechen War". CNN's Moscow bureau received the Peabody Award, DuPont Award, and Kaplan Award for excellence in reporting while he was with the network.^[1]

Harrigan reported from Georgia when it was involved in combat with Russia in 2008 and had to run to escape after being targeted by gunfire at one point.^[2] Harrigan reported from Haiti in 2010 after a major earthquake.^[3]

Harrigan has filed reports from 80 different countries--more than any other Fox^[4] News correspondent.

Harrigan graduated from Duke University and holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature. He is fluent in the Russian language.^[1]

Libya Controversy[link]

On March 21, 2011 CNN foreign correspondent Nic Robertson criticized Harrigan's coverage of Operation Odyssey Dawn and allegations that the Libyan government had used foreign journalists as human shields against a coalition air-strike on Mummar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli.^[5] The controversy arose when Harrigan refused to take part of a trip organized by the Libyan government to inspect the site of the attack. According to Robertson, the Fox News team sent a non-editorial member of their staff instead of Harrigan.^[6]

References[link]

Joe the Plumber
Wurzelbacher speaking in Elyria, Ohio, United States
Born	Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (1973-12-03) December 3, 1973 (age 38)
Residence	Holland, Ohio, United States
Other names	"Joe the Plumber"
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	Commentator/correspondent Former plumber's assistant

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher ( /ˈwɜrzəlbɑːkər/; born December 3, 1973), better known by the nickname "Joe the Plumber", is an American conservative activist, commentator and politician. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his small business tax policy, and Obama gave a response that included the statement, "when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody." Obama's response was seized on by conservative commentators, as well as by Obama's rival, Republican candidate John McCain, as an indication that Obama was interested in wealth redistribution, and had a socialist view of the economy.^[1][2]

As an employee of a plumbing contractor,^[3] Wurzelbacher was given the moniker "Joe the Plumber".^[4] The McCain-Palin campaign brought him to appear at several campaign events in Ohio, and McCain referred often to "Joe the Plumber" in subsequent campaign speeches and in the final presidential debate, as a metaphor for middle-class Americans.^[5][6]

Wurzelbacher became a conservative activist and pundit. He published a book in 2008 about his experiences, and became a motivational speaker and commentator. On March 6, 2012, he won the Republican nomination to represent Ohio's 9th congressional district in the House of Representatives and is running against Democratic nominee Marcy Kaptur.

Early life, education, and business career[link]

Wurzelbacher was born in Toledo, Ohio to Kay and Frank Wurzelbacher. The family moved to Florida when he was young, then returned to Toledo when he was in the middle of high school. After high school, Wurzelbacher enlisted in the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Alaska and North Dakota. In the Air Force, he learned plumbing, along with other skills. Wurzelbacher left the Air Force in 1996 and worked as a plumber, but then switched careers and started working at the telecommunications company Global Crossing. He also married, had a son, and then divorced during this time. After the divorce, Wurzelbacher decided to go back into plumbing in order to spend more time with his son.^[7]

2008 presidential election[link]

Encounter with Barack Obama[link]

On October 12, 2008, three days before the final presidential debate, Obama met residents in Wurzelbacher's Ohio neighborhood.^[8] Wurzelbacher, who had been playing football with his son in his front yard at the time, asked Obama about his tax plan.^[9] Wurzelbacher suggested that Obama's tax plan would be at odds with "the American dream."^[10] Wurzelbacher said, "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan's going to tax me more, isn't it?"^[11]

Obama responded with an explanation of how his tax plan would affect a small business in this bracket. Obama said, "If you're a small business, which you would qualify, first of all, you would get a 50 percent tax credit so you'd get a cut in taxes for your health care costs. So you would actually get a tax cut on that part. If your revenue is above 250, then from 250 down, your taxes are going to stay the same. It is true that, say for 250 up — from 250 to 300 or so, so for that additional amount, you’d go from 36 to 39 percent, which is what it was under Bill Clinton."^[12]

Obama also said, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success, too… My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off [...] if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."^[13][14]

Presidential debate[link]

During the third and final Presidential debate on October 15, 2008, at Hofstra University, many references were made to "Joe the Plumber."^[15] In the debate, McCain repeatedly brought up "Joe the Plumber" and Obama and McCain then made statements aimed directly at Wurzelbacher. As a result, subsequent media attention was directed at Wurzelbacher.^[16][17][18]

After the debate, Wurzelbacher did not declare his vote for either candidate. He expressed concern that Obama's plans were "one step closer to socialism."^[19] Obama's running mate Joe Biden argued that 98% of small businesses take in less than $250,000 a year in income and thus wouldn't be subject to higher taxes under Obama's plan. McCain stated that Wurzelbacher would see higher taxes under Obama's plan.^[20]

2008 media appearances[link]

Wurzelbacher and John McCain in a joint appearance at Elyria, Ohio

Wurzelbacher spoke to Katie Couric of CBS Evening News on October 15, shortly after the conclusion of the final debate. Asked whether Obama's proposed $250,000 tax threshold would affect him, Wurzelbacher replied: "Not right now at presently, but (...) he's going to do that now for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much? (...) You're on a slippery slope here. You vote on somebody who decides that $250,000 and you're rich? And $100,000 and you're rich? (...) Where does it end?"^[21] He also said, “I asked the question but I still got a tap dance ...almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr.”^[21]

Wurzelbacher held a press conference at his home on the morning of October 16, following the debates, where he refused to express support for either candidate. "I'm not telling anybody anything" about which candidate he prefers, he said, adding, "It's a private booth. I want the American people to vote for who they want to vote for."^[22]

On October 16, Wurzelbacher appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox News. Neil Cavuto asked if Wurzelbacher was persuaded by Obama's plan. Wurzelbacher said that he was not and that he was more frightened upon hearing it. Wurzelbacher suggested that Obama's plan was socialist in nature.^[10]

That same day, Wurzelbacher also appeared on Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer asked him if he was taking home $250,000 now, Wurzelbacher said with a laugh "No, not even close."^[23] Sawyer asked Wurzelbacher, "And the McCain camp, some people have said did they contact you and tell you that you were going to be a major part of this, and had they contacted you before that encounter with Senator Obama?" Wurzelbacher answered, "Oh no, no, no one's contacted me as far as if I was going to be on the debate or as far as my name being used. No. I have been contacted by them and asked to show up at a rally. But, other than that, no. I just happened to be here and Barack Obama happened to show up."^[23]

On November 2, Wurzelbacher appeared again on Your World with Neil Cavuto, where he expressed concern that Barack Obama's tax plans would go down "a slippery slope" and eventually raise his taxes. Wurzelbacher also questioned Obama's patriotism saying "there's too many questions with Barack Obama, and his loyalty to our country."^[24]

References on the campaign trail[link]

On October 18, McCain told a campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida that he had phoned Wurzelbacher for the first time on October 17. McCain said, "He's a great guy, proud of his grandfather who served in the US Marine Corps. We're going to fight for Joe, my friends, we are going to fight for him. The question Joe asked about our economy is important, because Senator Obama's plan would raise taxes on small businesses that employ 16 million Americans. Senator Obama's plan will kill those jobs at just the time when we need to be creating more jobs. My plan will create jobs, and that's what America needs."^[25]

The McCain-Palin campaign's senior strategist Steve Schmidt said that John McCain's strategy in the final weeks of the presidential campaign was based primarily on his differences with Obama on economic issues, which they would continue to highlight through the story of Joe the Plumber.^[26][27]

After the final presidential debate, McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin frequently repeated the charge in campaign speeches that "Joe the Plumber" would pay higher taxes under Obama and Biden's plan, although according to tax analysts neither Wurzelbacher nor the company he works for would actually be subject to higher taxes under Obama's tax plan.^[11] Obama's "spread the wealth around" quote was later used by the McCain campaign, comparing the Democrat's policies to socialism.^[28] McCain said, "[Obama] wants government to take Joe's money and give it to somebody else." Obama said in a campaign rally on October 24 that McCain was "not fighting for Joe the Plumber. He's fighting for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager... He likes to talk about Joe the Plumber but he's in cahoots with Joe the CEO." Obama then promoted a plan for middle-class tax cuts and "asked for a show of hands at the rally in the Richmond Coliseum from those making less than $250,000. Nearly all of the 13,000 people raised their hands."^[29]

Aides to the McCain-Palin campaign said on October 24 that they would "spend heavily" on a new TV advertisement invoking Wurzelbacher's nickname. The ad would feature "several different people looking into the camera and saying, 'I'm Joe the Plumber.' One man accuses Obama of wanting to use the man's 'sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending.'"^[30] McCain also ran several other commercials with this theme.

Joint appearances with John McCain[link]

On October 30, Wurzelbacher made appearances with John McCain during Ohio campaign stops in Sandusky, Elyria,^[31] and Mentor.^[32] In Sandusky, McCain accused the Obama campaign of attacking Wurzelbacher,^[33] and in Mentor, Wurzelbacher was allowed to address the crowd, saying, "Once you find out the facts, they become quite obvious," while pointing at McCain.

Earlier in the day, at a rally in Defiance, Ohio, McCain thought that Wurzelbacher was supposed to be in the crowd and called for him to stand up. When it became clear that Joe wasn't in attendance, McCain ended the silence by telling the whole crowd instead to stand up, stating, "You're all Joe the Plumber."^[34]

Since the 2008 election[link]

Political activism[link]

Wurzelbacher has signed with a publicity management agent regarding media relationships, including "a possible record deal with a major label, personal appearances and corporate sponsorships."^[35]

In November 2008, Wurzelbacher was hired for a series of commercials reminding people to convert analog television to digital.^[36] Wurzelbacher was hired to help consumers understand the DTV transition in the United States through a series of videos designed to explain the changeover.^[37]

In November 2008, Wurzelbacher began promoting his book Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.^[38][39] Co-written with novelist Thomas Tabback and published by PearlGate Publishing^[40] of Austin, Texas,^[41] the book addresses Wurzelbacher’s ideas concerning American values.^[42] In particular, Wurzelbacher criticizes John McCain and states that he did not want him as the Republican presidential nominee.^[43] According to the Toledo Blade, Wurzelbacher criticized McCain as a candidate, saying that the election was "the lesser of two evils."^[44] On December 10, 2008, it was reported that Wurzelbacher also criticized McCain for voting for the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the bank bailout.^[45] When it comes to taxation, he does not consider himself to be a supporter of either party.^[46]

In January 2009, Wurzelbacher began work as a motivational speaker and commentator. His first assignment^[47] was to comment from Israel on the fighting between the Israeli Defence Forces and Hamas, focusing on the Israeli experience of the conflict. On February 26, Wurzelbacher spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he led a panel titled "conservatism 2.0".^[48] On February 27, he spoke at the Washington, D.C. American Tea Party protest in Lafayette Park.^[49] In March, Wurzelbacher attended two conferences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first speaking to the "Conservative Young Professionals of Milwaukee,"^[50] and then at the “Defending the American Dream Summit." ^[51] On April 15, he spoke at the Michigan Tax Day Tea Party in Lansing.^[52] On May 6, 2009, Wurzelbacher appeared at a campaign event on behalf of New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Lonegan.^[53] In May 2009, Time magazine reported that Wurzelbacher was quitting the Republican Party.^[54] On September 19 he spoke at a Tea Party protest at Veteran's Park in Milwaukee.^[55]

On February 13, 2010 Wurzelbacher attended a political event for Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer. Speaking to a reporter afterwards, Wurzelbacher said that "McCain was trying to use [him]", and accused McCain of having "really screwed [his] life up".^[56][57]

In Wisconsin, on February 2011, he spoke at a counter-demonstration, during protests against Governor Scott Walker's attempts to abolish collective bargaining rights of some public employees.^[58]

2012 congressional election[link]

Draft movement[link]

After his meeting with Barack Obama, a campaign to draft Wurzelbacher to run for the United States House of Representatives in the 2010 election started with the website joewurzelbacher2010.com.^[59] The Washington Times and the Boston Herald reported that the campaign's goal was to draft Wurzelbacher to run against Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio's 9th congressional district,^[60][61] although the possibility also existed for Kaptur to choose to run for the Senate seat being vacated by George Voinovich.^[62] The website was created by Trevor Lair (then-chairman of the Massachusetts College Republicans),^[63] Derek Khanna,^[64] and the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans.^[65] It encouraged visitors to sign an online petition that supported Wurzelbacher’s run for office.^[63][66] Laura Ingraham asked Wurzelbacher, on October 24, 2008, if he would run against Kaptur. Wurzelbacher responded that he had considered the run and would be "up for it".^[67]

Campaign[link]

Wikinews has related news: Super Tuesday 2012: 'Joe the Plumber' wins GOP congressional primary

On October 7, 2011, Wurzelbacher filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to challenge Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur in the 2012 race for Ohio's 9th congressional seat.^[68]

In the March 6, 2012 primary, Wurzelbacher gained the nomination as the Republican candidate in the race, defeating challenger Steven Kraus.^[69] He will run in the November 2012 general election against Marcy Kaptur, who won in the same day's Democratic primary against Dennis Kucinich after the two incumbents' respective Congressional districts were collapsed into one as a result of post-2010 Census redistricting by the state's Republican-controlled legislature.^[70]

Controversies[link]

Plumbing credentials[link]

Regarding his statement to Barack Obama about intending to buy the plumbing firm that employed him, Wurzelbacher later said that the idea of buying the company was discussed during his job interview six years prior.^[9] According to MSNBC and Fox News, court records show that Wurzelbacher made $40,000 in 2006.^[19] Dun & Bradstreet's report estimated that A. W. Newell Corporation, the full corporate name, had $510,000 in annual sales and eight employees.^[71] As part of the background on McCain's use of "Joe the Plumber," several media outlets researched his professional plumbing credentials. One Toledo Blade article stated, "Mr. Wurzelbacher said he works under Al Newell’s license, but according to Ohio building regulations, he must maintain his own license to do plumbing work. He is also not registered to operate as a plumber in Ohio, which means he’s not a plumber." "Mr. Joseph [business manager of the local union] said Mr. Wurzelbacher could only legally work in the townships, but not in any municipality in Lucas County or elsewhere in the country."^[72] Wurzelbacher has since stated that he is no longer employed at Newell.^[4]

On March 15, 2012, Wurzelbacher stated in fundraising emails that "I'm counting on your support because, as a plumber, I'm not going to be able to write my campaign a check."^{[citation needed]}

Tax controversy[link]

ABC News reported on October 16, 2008, that there was a judgment lien against Wurzelbacher for non-payment of $1,182 in owed Ohio state income taxes dating to January 2007, but "no action has been taken against him outside of filing the lien." Barb Losie, deputy clerk of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, said that "there is a 99 percent chance [Wurzelbacher] doesn't know about the lien, unless he did a credit report or was ready to pay his taxes."^[73] While on Hannity & Colmes, Wurzelbacher stated that he was unaware of the tax lien prior to it being reported in the press.^[74] The taxes were paid on November 6.^[75]

Database search controversy[link]

Prior to the 2008 election, Vanessa Niekamp, an employee of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services, at the behest of its director, Helen Jones-Kelley, used state computers to search for information on Joe Wurzelbacher. On November 20, 2008, Niekamp reported the violation to the State Inspector General. State and local officials completed an investigation into Jones-Kelley's order, concluding that the searches were improper.^[76][77] On December 17, 2008, Jones-Kelley resigned.^[78] In response to the event, Republican Ohio state representative Shannon Jones sponsored House Bill 648, which mandates civil and criminal penalties for improper access of personal information on state databases.^[79] On January 6, 2009, Governor Ted Strickland signed the legislation,^[80] which became effective after 90 days.^[81]

On March 5, 2009, on behalf of Joe Wurzelbacher, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Columbus^[82] charging that Jones-Kelley and fellow ODJFS employees Fred Williams and Doug Thompson improperly searched "confidential state databases" in an attempt to retaliate against Wurzelbacher's criticism of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.^[82] The lawsuit claims that "officials of the State of Ohio violated Mr. Wurzelbacher's constitutional rights,"^[83] and that "Wurzelbacher suffered emotional distress, harassment, and embarrassment as a result of the search."^[84] Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, stated that "no American should be investigated for simply asking a question of a public official."^[85] The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages.^[84] On August 4, 2010, the U.S District Court in Columbus dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the state database search didn't amount to a constitutional violation to the right to privacy. Judicial Watch stated it will appeal.^[86]

On October 14, 2009, the Columbus Dispatch reported that, "A former contractor for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police has been charged with rummaging through state computers to retrieve confidential information about 'Joe the Plumber.'" The State Highway Patrol has stated that, "this individual has also used a law-enforcement computer network on Oct. 16, 2008 to access personal information about Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher."^[87]

See also[link]

	United States portal
	Biography portal

• Tito the Builder

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joe the Plumber

• Campaign website
• Full, unedited video of the conversation between Wurzelbacher and Obama