Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, is the overnight sensation of the presidential campaign. He was mentioned 23 times in last night's debate. There are already Joe the Plumber remixes on YouTube, hundreds want to be his friend on Facebook, and words "Plumber" and "Joe" are the two most searched on Twitter.
Suddenly it is as if the whole election hinges on his views. He has become a "a kind of proxy for all of the country's working people", says the New York Times.
So what did he make of the debate? In a video interview for his local Toledo Blade, Wurzelbacher conceded that "Obama is a damn good speaker" but he thinks his plans sound like "socialism". He praised McCain for "doing better".
But what about being mentioned repeatedly in the debate? "It's pretty surreal, man," he said.
Based on an extract from the Wrap, guardian.co.uk's digest of the day's news
