Joe The Plumber Passed Away!

Barack Obama made an Ohio man a celebrity on the far right.

"Spread the wealth" became the rally cry for conservatives to undermine Barack Obama in his presidential campaign and presidency. You can thank a guy who wanted to be a plumber but ended up being a far right media personality.

The man who confronted Obama in 2008 and complained about his tax policies became an overnight celebrity for the far right. It was in the suburb of Perrysburg, Ohio, outside of Toledo when Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher became a voice of the Tea Party Movement and an eventual piece to the election of Washed Up 45.

“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250-280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” Wurzelbacher asked Obama at the time.

Obama told Wurzelbacher that he would have to pay more in taxes for revenue exceeding $250,000 as part of the plan, which intended to give smaller businesses a tax cut to "spread the wealth around." The encounter became a focal point for then-Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who claimed Obama had wealth-distributing, socialist views based on the policy and used 'Joe the Plumber' as a representation of the American everyman during the final presidential debate.

Wurzelbacher also made appearances alongside McCain's running mate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, during the 2008 campaign following his viral encounter.

Wurzelbacher in his final days.

He passed away after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The agitator was 49.

Nicknamed Joe The Plumber, Wurzelbacher became a fixture on the John McCain Presidential Campaign. He appeared at many events and appeared on Fox with that annoying Sean "Softball" Hannity.

The McCain campaign brought him in to make several appearances in campaign events in Ohio and McCain often referenced "Joe the Plumber" in campaign speeches and in the final presidential debate, as a metaphor for middle-class Americans.

Wurzelbacher became a prominent conservative activist, commentator, author, and motivational speaker. In 2012, he ran on the Republican ticket to represent Ohio's 9th congressional district in the House of Representatives, losing to Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur.

He leaves behind a wife and three children.