WASHINGTON – Maybe they thought he would fade away into obscurity when his tax records were invaded and made public.

Maybe they thought he would disappear when his personal life was scrutinized by powerful media institutions.

Maybe they thought he would never be heard from again when the president of the United States denigrated his profession and social standing.

But he never went away – and Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber," is back making public appearances, speaking to tea party rallies and making his voice heard through a new book, "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream."

Wurzelbacher became known as Joe the Plumber following his Oct. 12 encounter with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in Ohio. He questioned Obama's plan to raise taxes on Americans who earn more than $250,000 each year.

Now the full story of his experience can be told for the first time – including his run-ins with Sarah Palin and John McCain on the campaign trail.

"This is a book about the American Dream colliding headon with American politics during perhaps the most important presidential election in our lifetime," he says.

Get your copy of "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream" now!

But his observations and recollections are not what you might expect.

"I don't go around talking about President Obama too often because it tends to draw a line for people," says Wurzelbacher. "I blame Congress ultimately for everything that is going badly. Obama just got in there. But that being said, I don't care for how he is conducting our foreign affairs. It worries me. He's also pushing a lot of things through too quickly and not giving American people a chance to catch their breath. I really don't care for how his leadership has been going so far."

Joe the Plumber speaks to presidential candidate Barack Obama in Ohio

Joe the Plumber said the best advice he can give to citizens who are frustrated with intrusive government is to stop voting along party lines and begin electing leaders who will abide by the nation's founding document.

"Learn the Constitution," he said. "Then when someone wants to be elected, hold their feet to the fire and make them follow it because that's what we need to get back to. It works so well when we follow it. Forget party politics. Learn the Constitution and vote the best American in, not the best Democrat or Republican."

Wurzelbacher said Americans must remind politicians that they "work for us."

"That's my whole goal," he said. "I'm just trying to remind people that we are in charge of our government. I stay away from the Left or Right and ask people to leave party politics at the door and be an American first."

For tea party critics who claim the protests are organized by the Republican Party, Wurzelbacher said they should attend and witness firsthand the grassroots movement.

"I'm cynical by nature, but I am also very hopeful because I see people from the Left and the Right showing up to these tea parties," he said. "You have people, bikers, union members and guys in three-piece suits showing up to these things."

In fact, he said many organizers prefer to keep politicians, Republican or Democrat, detached from the events.

"Politicians are slick," Wurzelbacher said. "They talk really pretty, but they bring no action to the table."

It is possible for citizens to take America back from "elitists who feel entitled," he said, but patriots must come together and stop their nation from being destroyed from the inside.

"Americans in general have a short memory," Wurzelbacher said. "After Sept. 11 happened, we were patriots for six months, and then half of them fell off. Now there's a very real threat to our country. I don't believe any one nation can take us out, but I definitely think we can take ourselves out."

Asked if he has plans to run for public office, he replied, "I hope not. You know, I talked to God about that and he was like, 'No.'"

He continued, "I believe he's gotten me on this grassroots movement. If I can encourage leaders to step up, that's what I would like to do. That's a heavy role. That's something I don't know if I am prepared to do yet."

But Wurzelbacher said he will keep that door open if God ever calls him to be that leader.

"I just know whenever I fall off his path, things get really hard," he said. "So I just stick with what God tells me to do."

www.wnd.com/index.php