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TOLEDO, OHIO (AP) -- Turns out that "Joe the Plumber" isn't a big fan of John McCain after all.
America's most famous plumber said the Republican presidential candidate's reasons for supporting the government's $700 billion bank rescue plan left him appalled, and nearly caused him to leave McCain behind on the campaign trail.
Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, who became a household name in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, said he asked McCain why he voted for the bailout.
"I was angry," Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday. "In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."
Wurzelbacher said some of McCain's answers stunned him, but he didn't say exactly what set him off, hinting that would be in his book, which is due this month.
His fame rose during the final weeks of the campaign after asking Barack Obama about his tax plan at a campaign stop outside Wurzelbacher's home near Toledo. McCain held up Wurzelbacher during the final presidential debate as an example of the middle-class worker who would be hurt economically by an Obama presidency.
Wurzelbacher endorsed McCain a week before the election and joined him on the trail. Wurzelbacher said he asked McCain at one point about the bailout because most Americans didn't support it.
He said the only reason he didn't get off the bus is "because the thought of Barack Obama becoming president scares me even more."
Wurzelbacher also campaigned with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He had only praise for her, calling Palin the real deal.
"It disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity," he said. "She really wants to work for America.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
