Sen. John McCain tried to make political hay during last night's presidential debate by repeatedly citing references to "Joe the plumber."

Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his tax plan while Obama was in Toledo, Ohio, on Sunday, and since then, has been propelled into media stardom by a McCain campaign desperate to distract the public from the fact that McCain's economic proposals involve:

Taxing our employer-based health care benefits.
Giving massive tax cuts to Big Oil-to the tune of $3.8 billion.
Supporting bad trade deals like the U.S. Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Wurzelbacher, by the way, is a registered Republican who was not an "undecided" voter, as has been reported by the media.

In other words, as Jane Hamsher puts it on Firedoglake, one word sums up the reasons the McCain campaign has trotted around Wurzelbacher: Plant.