SANDUSKY — All aboard the “Straight Talk Express.”

With “Joe the Plumber” to his right and wife Cindy to his left, Sen. John McCain briefly hosted a small group of local reporters for questions aboard his tour bus Thursday.

The trip was short — from a rally in downtown Sandusky to a McDonald’s in Huron — but McCain spoke about his policy and what effect it would have locally, especially for everyday people like Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher — his busmate.

“It’s what (Wurzelbacher) represents,” McCain said. “And that’s small business, free enterprise, less government, lower taxes — everybody sees him, and it restores their faith in America, and that’s what this is all about.”

The Republican nominee for president sat comfortably in the rear of his tour bus, named for his no-nonsense demeanor, and touched on topics including job creation and his initial plans in the White House.

Creating jobs through energy
“We can create 700,000 jobs by building 45 nuclear power plants across this country. Sen. (Barack) Obama says you can’t store it, you can’t repress it — of course, you can.”

Bailing out mortgages
“We’ve got to go into these people’s homes, buy their mortgages and give them a mortgage they can afford. We did this during the Great Depression. Over time, the Treasury will make money because value of the home goes up. (Homeowners) pay off their mortgage, they pay off the interest. It’s the housing crisis that started this, and it’s the housing crisis that’s got to be reversed.”

Revamping the U.S. auto industry
“We ought to give people a $5,000 tax credit to buy one of (a number of American-made, energy efficient vehicles being developed) … It can revolutionize America and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, which is $700 billion a year we’re sending overseas.”

A healthier economy
“I’m not going to increase anybody’s taxes. We’re going to cut spending, and we are going to get our economy back so that small businesses can again grow and flourish. It’s a series of steps and probably the most important one is trust and confidence. The confidence level is at an all-time low since they’ve been keeping the statistic. Restore trust and confidence — they’re going to keep their money, they’re going to be able to stay in their homes, and we’re going to create jobs for them.”

McCain’s campaign in a nutshell

“Reform, prosperity and peace. Reform the way government does business, and we’ll clean out the corruption and the mess in Washington (D.C.). We’ll restore jobs, we’ll keep your taxes low, (and you) keep more of your money.

“Encourage small businesses and preserve the peace and make the peace … I know how to make peace. I’ve been tested, and I know our enemies and I know our friends, and I know how to deal with both.”

Vetoing pork barrel spending

“It’s compelling that 25 years ago, a pork-barrel project was a rare occurrence — now it’s billions and billions and billions of dollars. If there’s a worthwhile project, Sandusky, Ohio, should compete with every other city, it should not be dependent on the power of the congressman or senator. It should be dependent on competitiveness and the requirement for it. We end up with a corrupting practice, which ends up with people in federal prison.”

If he wins, how would McCain celebrate?

Cindy McCain beat everybody to the punch by blurting out “sleep,” evoking laughter from around the bus.

McCain said Wurzelbacher would be at the top of his celebration guest list.

“We’re going to invite Joe and any one of his friends that he wants to bring to the White House, and I’m serious … Joe crystallized for America what this campaign was all about.”

Aboard the Straight Talk Express

The bus — stocked with rock-star-like amenities including a plasma TV and refrigerator — was filled with staff, security personnel, and friends and family.

• • •

Wurzelbacher, dressed in Lee jeans and a workman-friendly Carhartt T-shirt, sat comfortably with his arm often draped over the back of the seat.

When the renowned plumber, whose claim to Republican fame came after his public quizzing of Obama’s tax plan and multiple mentions in the final presidential debate, was asked why his “research” led him to choosing McCain, he said he simply avoided the “scary” choice.

McCain suggested that his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, may have been the one to steer Joe the GOP’s way.

There were a multitude of signs at the Sandusky rally, which included: an elderly woman holding a sign that simply read “Hockey Grandma,” and a woman holding a sign that read “Read my Lipstick.”

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

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