Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, 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.