We talked earlier this week about how Joe Wurzelbacher, a/k/a “Joe the Plumber,“ is now considering a run for Congress.

Well, now he’s hired a Nashville publicity team. This is just getting beyond ridiculous now.

From the Associated Press:

The Press Office in Nashville, where clients include rockers Grand Funk Railroad and Eddie Money, will help (Wurzelbacher) handle the flood of interview and appearance requests that have poured in since he was mentioned during a presidential debate and quickly became a household name.

“It’s like any other celebrity who is in the public eye,“ said Jim Della Croce, who owns the agency. “There needs to be someone acting as a clearinghouse and interpreting the opportunities and coordinating the media requests, and he truly is being inundated.“

The PR folks quickly cleared up one rapidly spreading rumor about the plumber: He’s not planning to release an album, though a book is in the works.

“He’s not doing a country record,“ the AP reported Della Croce as saying Thursday. “I think that was an angle that was presumptuous.“

Della Croce continued:

“Certainly Joe will go down in history and will be a celebrity regardless of which way the election turns,“ Della Croce said. “He is a curiosity. He’s touched a nerve with the common man, and people are curious as to what’s on his mind. I think he speaks for a lot of people.“

Press Office lesson No. 1: Presumption: Not OK for people talking about Joe the Plumber. Totally OK for Joe the Plumber himself.

Before they work on the book deal, they might want to put someone in charge of Wurzelbacher’s schedule. The McCain campaign needs all the help it can get.