Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber

[Shady]

Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber

State and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for "personal information about "Joe the Plumber."

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher became part of the national political lexicon Oct. 15 when Republican presidential candidate John McCain mentioned him frequently during his final debate with Democrat Barack Obama.

The 34-year-old from the Toledo suburb of Holland is held out by McCain as an example of an American who would be harmed by Obama's tax proposals.

Public records requested by The Dispatch disclose that information on Wurzelbacher's driver's license or his sport-utility vehicle was pulled from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times shortly after the debate.

Information on Wurzelbacher was accessed by accounts assigned to the office of Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department.

It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver's license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law enforcement and government business.

The Columbus Dispatch

It looks as though Joe the plumber has made some enemies in very high places. I guess that'll teach him for embarassing the Messiah in public. And that's a lesson to the rest of you as well. If you're going to question Dear Leader, it must be approved by his handlers. If not, you'll face the consequences.

[bush_cheney2004]

...It looks as though Joe the plumber has made some enemies in very high places. I guess that'll teach him for embarassing the Messiah in public. And that's a lesson to the rest of you as well. If you're going to question Dear Leader, it must be approved by his handlers. If not, you'll face the consequences.

Indeed....this may prove to be the most interesting chapter in The Adventures of Joe the Plumber. How ironic that it was "plumbers" who got another presidential candidate in trouble many years ago.