"'Joe the Plumber' doesn't need Senators Barack Obama or John McCain'" says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's nominee for president. "He needs 'Bob the Builder.'"

"While Senators Obama and McCain seek only to put government patches on today's problems, 'Joe the Plumber' needs a leader who will rebuild our government into one that serves the interests of the people; not the interests of Washington," says Barr. "Senator McCain wants to make 'Joe the Plumber' responsible for his neighbor's mortgage, and Senator Obama wants to tax 'Joe the Plumber' for being successful. Both Senators Obama and McCain want to spend 'Joe the Plumber's' tax dollars on wasteful projects, such as the $850 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street."

"Senators Obama and McCain are no friend to 'Joe the Plumber,'" says Barr. "But 'Bob the Builder is.' 'Bob the Builder' says that Joe should be able to keep the fruits of his labor, and shouldn't be responsible for the mistakes of other people. 'Bob the Builder' says Joe shouldn't be asked to shoulder Wall Street, and shouldn't have his son sent off to die in a war that should have never been started. 'Bob the Builder' wants to build a government that is limited to its Constitutional authority, spends less of Joe's money and stays out of Joe's life."

"America needs a builder, not a patch-job," says Barr. "Senators Obama and McCain are a part of our problems—they are not the solution. America needs a leader with the vision and the courage to stand up against government, and truly reform it, where it once again begins serving the interest of every Joe and Jane across America. America needs Bob Barr."

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

Bob the Builder is a construction contractor, specializing in masonry repair. He is an early supporter of Barack Obama, mainly due to his use of Bob’s catchphrase (Can we fix it? Yes we can!). The more Bob learns about Obama and his policies, the more enthusiastic he is about his candidacy.

Bob’s main concerns are the effect the coming recession will have on his business and the cost of providing health insurance to his employees. He believes that Obama’s plans for health insurance and the economy offer the best hope for the future.

TOPSFIELD — One comedian made his way smashing watermelons, but David Letterman's next big antic could be to explode the 1,464-pound pumpkin that won at the Topsfield Fair.

The details were still sketchy yesterday, but Letterman wants to wreck, in grand style, the winning pumpkin raised by Oakham's Wes Dwelly. The giant pumpkins are grown out of pride rather than for food, but the idea still left a bad taste in the mouth of Rick Skrzypczak of Barre, whose pumpkin took second place at the fair this year.

"David Letterman contacted me first, and I told him I was not interested in doing that, so he contacted Wes. It's just something I don't think should be done to a pumpkin," Skrzypczak said. "I've worked hard on it all season long."

Dwelly said he's still trying to finalize the details — the pumpkin may be exploded around Oct. 27 and aired on television on Halloween night, he said. That's assuming the pumpkin lasts through the month and survives transport to Coney Island. Someone would scoop out the seeds and insert dynamite, he said.

"I have mixed emotions about it," he said. "What we do with pumpkins, when you get in close to fall of the year, we put blankets on 'em every night, you treat 'em like kids. It becomes almost like part of the family. Having them blown up in some ways doesn't seem right, but we know they're not going to last forever anyways, and it is something that people like to watch."

Chip Howe of Paxton said people have started pouring into Howe's Farm & Garden to see Dwelly's winner and two giants from Skrzypczak, at 1,399 and 1,284 pounds.

"It's unbelievable how good they look together. It's just awesome," he said.