WASHINGTON: You remember Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, the tax-dodging, unlicensed plumber who John McCain used as a prop in the waning days of his campaign?

Well, he's about to launch a book, and, in the fine tradition of political gratitude, he's biting the hand that made him famous.

That's right, it turns out that Joe the "Plumber" isn't such a big fan of John McCain after all. The book's out later this month and he's busy promoting it.

America's most famous (albeit briefly) blue collar man said he was appalled by the Republican presidential candidate's reasons for supporting the government's $700 billion bank rescue plan, and he said they nearly caused him to abandon McCain.

Now being dubbed "Joe the Traitor" by many in this town after his backstabbing of McCain, he said McCain "appalled" him and that he felt "dirty" for spending time with him. This statement was made just about a month after he said, "McCain has fought and bled for our country, loves our country."

On the same radio program, Wurzelbacher hawked his as-yet-unpublished book: "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream."

Wurzelbacher said after learning of the former GOP presidential nominees reasons for supporting the government's bank bailout plan: "I was angry," Wurzelbacher said. "In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."

Wurzelbacher endorsed McCain a week before the election and joined him on the campaign trail, hinting that his book would give more details as to why he's betrayed McCain.

He added that the only reason he didn't get off the McCain bandwagon was "because the thought of Barack Obama becoming president scares me even more."

Let us recall that McCain stood by Wurzelbacher even after the plumber agreed that a vote for Barack Obama is a vote for the "death of Israel," prompting Fox News' Shepard Smith to say of Wurzelbacher: "It just gets frightening sometimes."

"I like to think I'm a little more educated than some out there on politics," said Wurzelbacher on the radio show, adding the book will offer readers an "inside look" at the campaign. He says he "talked to John McCain pretty in depth" and implies that what he heard was less than honest - specifically in terms of how McCain could have voted for the Wall Street bailout bill given all the pork in it.

Wurzelbacher, 34, gained his national attention when Obama told him during a campaign stop that he wanted to "spread the wealth around" and their exchange about Obama's tax plan was widely reported. McCain repeatedly cited "Joe the Plumber" in a debate, saying Obama's plan would hurt people like him who want to own their own businesses.

Wurzelbacher also campaigned with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He had plenty praise for her, calling Palin "the real deal."

"It disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity," he said. "She really wants to work for America."

So Joe is dumping McCain for Palin. Perhaps his "political education" tells him that Palin --unlike McCain -- has a long political future ahead of her.

Wurzelbacher's rise to national prominence may have brought him a book deal, but it also invited scrutiny into his life. A vocal opponent of America's progressive tax policy who also advocates eliminating the US Social Security system, Wurzelbacher admitted on a Fox News program in October that his parents relied on public assistance twice while he was growing up. ABC News also revealed that Wurzelbacher didn't pay $1,182 in income taxes he owed to the state of Ohio. The national union for plumbers, steamfitters and service mechanics also pointed out that Wurzelbacher never completed his plumbing apprenticeship he started in 2003, which means he does not have an individual plumber's license.