[Vision2020] they can check Joe the Plumber’s background but Obama won’t prove his NBC

[No Weatherman]

Checks on 'Joe' more extensive than first acknowledged
Tax, welfare info also sought on McCain ally
By Randy Ludlow

A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for
potential information on "Joe the Plumber" were more extensive than it
first acknowledged.

Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph
Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to
determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed
unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President
Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials
checked out Wurzelbacher.

Harris called the multiple records checks "questionable" and said he
awaits more answers. "It's kind of like Big Brother is looking in your
pocket," he said.

If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper
stories as buying a business, "it must take a lot of people a lot of
time to run these checks," he said. "Where do you draw the line?"

The checks were run after the news media reported that Wurzelbacher
was considering buying a plumbing business with more than $250,000 in
annual income, Jones-Kelley wrote.

"Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated
that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise,
ODJFS, consistent with past departmental practice, checked
confidential databases ," she wrote.

"Not surprisingly, when a person behind in child support payments or
receiving public assistance is receiving significant media attention
which suggests that the person appears to have available financial
resources, the Department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to
take note and respond," Jones-Kelley wrote.

The results of the searches were not publicly released and remain
confidential, she wrote. Wurzelbacher has said he is not involved in a
child-support case and has not purchased any business.

Jones-Kelley wrote that the checks were "well-meaning," but
misinterpreted amid the heated final weeks of a presidential election.

Wurzelbacher became a household name when Republican presidential
hopeful John McCain frequently referred to "Joe the Plumber" during
his Oct. 15 debate with Democrat nominee Barack Obama. The checks
began the next day.

Wurzelbacher, who has endorsed and campaigned for McCain, had been
caught on videotape challenging Obama about his tax proposals during a
campaign visit to "Joe's" neighborhood in the Toledo suburb of
Holland.

Republicans have painted the checks on Wurzelbacher as a politically
motivated bid by Democrats to dig up dirt and discredit the McCain
ally. The Obama campaign has said it has no ties to the checks and
supports investigations.

The administration of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has said the
information was not improperly shared and that there were no political
motives behind the checks.

The Dispatch has uncovered four uses of state computer systems to
access personal information on Wurzelbacher, including the
child-support check authorized by Jones-Kelley.

She said on Monday that her department frequently runs checks for any
unpaid child support obligations "when someone is thrust quickly into
the public spotlight."
Republican legislators have challenged Jones-Kelley's reason for
checking on Wurzelbacher as "frightening" and flimsy.

Jones-Kelly also has denied any connections between the computer
checks on Wurzelbacher and her support for Obama. She donated the
maximum $2,500 this year to the Obama campaign.

Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether the
child-support check on Wurzelbacher was legal.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/29/joe30.html?sid=101