Not exactly a surprise, then, that within eight hours of filing his intention to run (Friday, October 7th), the mainstream media (including the more well-known liberal blogsites) had already cranked out 438 stories on the topic of Joe's potential congressional run, the majority of them structured as hit pieces, or in a manner that will facilitate later hit pieces.

As far as I've been able to tell, though, a grand total of one legitimate issue has been raised.  (Apparently, a republican stranglehold majority totally screwing up redistricting opportunities is a recurring problem in this country.)  That issue keys on the potentially chaotic reality of the 2011 reapportionment map of Ohio's congressional districts being headed for a potential ballot-box showdown.  (The Cleveland Scene, the Toledo Blade, and WKSU, among others, provide some coverage.)

And why that matters is that Joe's current hometown of Holland, Ohio, is currently located within the proposed 5th District, instead of the proposed 9th District.  As Marilou Johanek of the Toledo Blade points out in an op-ed piece, if the proposed districts stand as drawn, then Wurzelbacher will have effectively filed to mount a primary challenge to Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) instead of squaring off against the winner of a Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) - Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland) primary contest.

I talked with Joe about that earlier today, and his response was:

In the state of Ohio, according to the state constitution, as long as you've been a resident of the state for at least one year, then you can run for any seat in the state, regardless of where you live.  The incumbents (Kaptur and Kucinich), don't live in the redrawn district either, but once all the dust settles, we all may live in that district.  I'm not happy about the redistricting, because it hurts everyone in office at every level, and I do believe that the republicans overstepped their bounds, but I think that we have more important things to focus on than quibbling over a map.

So that's where it stands.  The official campaign kick-off announcement will be made this evening at Tony Packos' Café in Toledo.  From the campaign press release:

Wurzelbacher filed as a candidate in the 9th District earlier this month.  His campaign has been in an exploratory phase since that time, gauging their level of support across the district.  "Good people just haven't been stepping up to run in these important races.  I want to prove that regular people can run, win, and keep their integrity intact."  Wurzelbacher will continue to weigh his options over the next week.

Mr. Wurzelbacher will be inviting a broad range of constituents from all over district to attend. There will also be a brief question and answer period.  Which will be followed by a live cyber Town Hall Meeting with thousands of concerned Americans in attendance online.

Of course, Joe's campaign website is already live, and if you'd like, then you're free to donate as much as you'd like (within campaign finance limits).  Of course, as you'd expect, this is probably going to be a national-profile race - just because it's Joe - so any help we can send his way is a good thing.