Down the drain with McCain

Facts about Joe the Plumber, who was invoked 26 times by Republican candidate John McCain in this week's presidential debate:

--He's not a licensed plumber.
--He's a registered Republican, though he denied it.
--He owes back taxes and there's a lien on his property for unpaid bills.
--He's on YouTube spouting about liberal conspiracies and calling Social Security a "joke."
--He admits he asked Democratic candidate Barack Obama about taxes because he was trying to trip him up.
--He compared Obama's "tap-dancing" on the tax issue to the late Sammy Davis Jr.

Doesn't anyone in the McCain campaign vet these people (Joe, Sarah Palin) before the candidate trots them out as All-American archetypes? Are the Rovian Republicans so cynical that they think the public doesn't care about the facts?

Lots of stories about Joe in the media and on the Internet today including this one, which points out that Joe already has given more media interviews than Palin.