Joe the Plumber Steals the Show From Brit Hume

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

It was supposed to be Brit Hume's big night, but the Fox Newser got outshone by another conservative darling—Joe the Plumber. Hume, the retired host of Fox News's Special Report , was receiving the William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Media Excellence at the Media Research Center's annual gala, but it was Samuel Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher who stole the show. Wurzelbacher got a standing ovation and was called a folk hero when he sauntered on stage, dressed in flannel and denim, to accept one of right-leaning MRC's DisHonors awards, the less serious awards of the evening that roast the most "outrageously biased liberal reporting of the year." Wurzelbacher grabbed the Obamagasm Award on behalf of ABC's Bill Weir, who had made flowery comments about President Obama on Inauguration Day. Other winners included MSNBC's Chris Matthews and HBO's Bill Maher.

When Hume concluded the night by accepting the big prize, he too acknowledged Wurzelbacher. "Joe, you asked a great question last year, and I think, buddy, you got your answer—your taxes are going up," Hume said to laughs. When Whispers caught up with Wurzelbacher after dinner, he had kind words for Hume as well. "Yes, I've seen him, and I've watched him, and I like him," he told Whispers. And those rumors that Joe the Plumber might someday be Joe the Politician? "It's still a rumor," he told Whispers with a smirk as he continued signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans.

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