McCain's October surprise?

DEVELOPING UPDATE:    The New York Times and some other news outlets are now questioning the authenticity of  John McCain's October surprise at last night's debate: Joe the Plumber, aka Joe Wurselbacher,  aka a would-be small  businessman supposedly threatened by Barack Obama's tax proposals, aka the opening chapter in what someone near to me has already labeled Plungergate.    Here's the follow-up to  JTP's hardluck story, which McCain referenced 15 times by name:

JTP is a confirmed Republican and McCain supporter,  works for a  plumbing  business in Toledo, does not earn enough to be higher-taxed by the Obama plan (which actually would cut his tax since he is under the $250,000 cap) is unlicensed as a plumber himself and doesn't belong to the plumber's union, and has a $1,000 lien pending against him. It does raise questions about the man who said Obama tap-danced around a question  "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr."  It's not the kind of report that the McCain people need back at their dimly-lit headquarters.  

If only some of this is true, you have to feel sorry for JTP.  Either he was recruited for a voluntary  hit job, or the McCain campaign vetted him with no more skill than it applied to Sarah Palin.