The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Indiana

I've been amiss in keeping this blog current, but that stops now.

AP reports today that Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, who is more popularly known as "Joe the Plumber," has joined a conservative Web site, pjtv.com, as a war correspondent.

Let me repeat that: Joe the Plumber has been hired to be a reporter. On war.

Oh, heck, why not? Let's let him do pieces on Thai ballet and ancient cave paintings, too!

What perspective could Joe the Plumber possibly bring to this job? How many wars has he covered? How many stories has he written? Can he even hold a pen or work a computer keyboard?

"Boy howdy, there's bombs!" Joe exclaims. "They blowin' stuff up! Damn!"

And so on.

The problem with stunts like this is the same one that permeates most online blogs: Telling a story isn't just standing there talking. There is a structure to professional journalism. War correspondents observe and then condense events into a small, potent piece of reporting. They're giving viewers a wide view of things within a small window of time.

Whereas Joe the Plumber, if he's not propped up with "helpers," will blather on and on, much like I am right now. Only I KNOW I'm blathering. Joe will just be searching for the right word.

Please understand: This isn't to say that anybody isn't entitled to an opinion, or that anyone opinion does not matter. All opinions matter, and that's one of the saving graces of the Internet. It gives those opinions a voice.

But to set just anyone off the street up as a war correspondent is ludicrous.

Especially when that person says he is heading to Israel -- and we quote -- to let Israel's "'Average Joes' share their story."

Pal, there's NOTHING average about the life the Israelis lead. Each and every citizen of that country has most likely heard more than one explosion -- of a bomb or missile or grenade -- in his or her lifetime. They live in a heightened state of fear most of the time. Even those far from the fighting live with the knowledge that they have made their homes amongest their enemies.

You, on the other hand, have stumbled into an undeserved fame. And it apparently has gone to your head.

I can only pray that your better angels emerge in control and that you don't diminish the reality of this situation for your own glory.