There are a million stories cropping up about Plumber Joe Wurzelbacher. He was mentioned 25 times during the debate, more so than issues like the economy, the war, or social security.

Turns out, JOE DOESN’T EXIST. There IS NO JOE Wurzelbacher registered to vote in Ohio.

A simple search reveals no matches to Joe, Joseph or J Wurzelbacher. You can download the Lucas County, OH voterfile here since it is a matter of public record. Registered voters with that unique last name are here.

The only near match is a Robert Lee Wurzelbacher. Neither he nor “Joe” have a listing in the Yellow Pages. A better question might be: why is Robert Wurzelbacher filing for bankruptcy?

Moreover, is Mr. Wurzelbacher really a “real, average American?” He doesn’t appear to be an average Joe in the slightest. If we assume Robert Wurzelbacher to be the man calling himself “Joe”, Mr. Wurzelbacher has an almost perfect voting record since 2000. He has voted in every major general election, two primaries and one special election. This is NOT your typical, infrequent, independent and undecided voter. This guy is a high information, highly engaged voter. I would even call him ACTIVIST in his voting patterns.

ABC seems to think it was a chance encounter between Senator Obama and Mr. Wurzelbacher. But the facts are beginning to look like it has all been staged. In fact, some commentators were quick to point out Mr. Wurzelbacher spoke an awful lot like a polished pundit. So why did Mr.Wurzelbacher have to complete his chat with Katie Couric with a mildly racist ending?

Here’s a clip from the debate – they talk about Joe a lot.

Senator Obama met “Plumber Joe” in Holland, OH

And here’s the embed with the voterfile evidence.