The roll call of great war correspondents includes such luminaries as Martha Gellhorn, Hamilton Fyfe, William Howard Russell.

Now another - albeit lesser - name hopes to be added to the list; that of Joe the Plumber.

Joe Wurzelbacher, the Ohio plumber who became briefly famous during the US presidential campaign when he tackled Barack Obama on his tax plan, is on his way to Israel to be a war reporter for the conservative website pjtv.com.

Joe, clearly determined to extend the 15 minutes of fame given him by the John McCain team when they picked him up as their electoral mascot, now plans to be the voice of Israel's 'Average Joe.'

Two months after publicly agreeing with a McCain supporter that a vote for Mr Obama was a vote for the death of Israel, he says he will spend 10 days covering the Gaza conflict from the Israelis' point of view.

Clearly a man for whom the phrase 'objective reporting' has no relevance, he told Toledo television station WNWO-TV; "It's tragic but what are the Israeli people supposed to do?

"I get to go over there and let their “Average Joes” share their story, what they think, how they feel, especially with world opinion, maybe get a real story out there,” he said.

“If given the opportunity to do some good however minute it may be, or could be something really good, you gotta take that chance. You have to do it,” he added, heroically.

Is he scared that one of the Hamas rockets might have his name on it? Not really. After all, as he explained, he's a Christian so God will keep him safe.

"Being a Christian I'm pretty well protected by God I believe," he said.

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