Damon 'honored' by Joe the Plumber's shout-out

[October 24, 2008]  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Matt Damon is honored that the most recent celebrity of the presidential campaign -- "Joe the Plumber" -- dropped his name in an interview.

"That was a surprise. I hadn't heard that Joe the Plumber dropped my name," Damon said. "I'm honored to be in the little passion play, to be an extra."

The plumber, whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher, became an overnight media sensation after he was referred to constantly in the final presidential debate. When the press arrived at his Ohio home, Wurzelbacher, a Republican, said he hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself with all the attention, "I don't have a lot of pull. It's not like I'm Matt Damon."

Damon -- a hardcore Democrat who has spent as much time campaigning for Barack Obama recently than he has acting -- was in San Francisco promoting a charity, OneXOne (pronounced One-by-One).

Along with hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean, Damon was promoting the group's work to end hunger and suffering for children in poverty in the U.S. and Africa.

The actor said he's headed to Florida this weekend to work with the Obama campaign on getting out the vote in a key battleground state. After that, Damon is off to Morocco to finish shooting a movie, but he said he would stay engaged with the Obama campaign.

"I'm sure I'll be on the phone over there after filming every night," he said. "I'll do telephone interviews or whatever they'll have me do. I want to sprint to the finish with the millions of us who really have been desperate for this change."

Damon previously had been openly critical of John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, calling the campaign's pick for the vice presidency "a disaster." On Thursday, Damon said he would not comment on the Republican ticket.

"The Obama campaign has decided to focus on the positive, and I should be a bigger man and be able to do that with them," Damon said.

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On the Net:

http://www.onexone.org/

[Associated Press; By JASON DEAREN]

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