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Joe Wurzelbacher, a.k.a Joe the Plumber was stumping for republicans Tuesday afternoon at the Dublin Pub.Click to enlarge

DAYTON — Joe the Plumber has an advance person now. He has a press secretary to handle his media appearances.

He is writing a book on American values, and he hasn't ruled out running for Congress.

And on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in a well-organized rollout by Sen. John McCain's campaign — they hired the press secretary and the advance person — he endorsed McCain, announcing his support during a daylong bus tour with stops in Columbus, Dayton, Milford, Middletown and Cincinnati.

"My choice in this is McCain," he told a crowd of about 80 packed into the Dublin Pub in downtown Dayton. "I plan on voting for a real American."

Joe the Plumber, better known as Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher of Holland became a household name after McCain referred to him repeatedly in the last presidential debate. The McCain campaign has used Wurzelbacher as a symbol of the small businessmen who would be hurt by Obama's tax plan, which would cut taxes for all those who make under $250,000, but raise taxes for those who make more than $250,000.

Wurzelbacher, who works as an apprentice for a plumber in Toledo, makes considerably less than that, but told Obama earlier this month that he wanted to buy the company he works for.

Obama's campaign said that under their tax plan, Wurzelbacher would actually see a tax cut — even if he buys the company. "Facts are facts: Barack Obama is the candidate who is standing up for the middle class, has a plan to turn our economy around, and will give Joe the Plumber and 95 percent of working families a tax cut," said Obama spokesman Isaac Baker.

Tuesday was Wurzelbacher's first campaign trip for McCain, and it got off to a roaring start: Speaking without notes in Columbus, he said he was "scared for America," and said that Obama would end the democracy that the U.S. military had defended during wars.

"I love America. I hope it remains a democracy, not a socialist society," he said. "If you look at spreading the wealth, that's honestly right out of Karl Marx's mouth," Wurzelbacher said, referring to comments Obama made to him in Toledo earlier this month.

At one point, Wurzelbacher agreed with a McCain supporter who asked him if he believed "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel."

But Dayton, his second appearance on the trail, passed without much controversy, though Wurzelbacher did criticize Obama as being weak on national security issues.

Instead, facing a wall of news cameras that included a news crew from Japan, he looked both amused and a little weirded out by the attention.

"Two weeks ago, I was usually talking to a husband and wife about what I was going to do underneath their house in their crawl space," he said.

He urged those in the pub to "get informed."

"Passion is good, but don't let it be misplaced," he said.

He was accompanied by former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, who called Wurzelbacher a symbol for what's at stake in this election.

"Joe has allowed us to put face on something that the campaign was not as effective as communicating, and that is two different visions of America," he said. "One is where we encourage small businesses, entrepreneurs and people pursuing the American dream, and another where you're adding more burdens."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.