The Heartland Election

truthdig.com — Yes, we still make a lot of stuff in the United States of America, and one of the good things about this election is that it is likely to be decided in the nation’s industrial heartland—in the towns and cities of Ohio above all, but also in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. President Obama almost certainly needs these states to win re-election, and if he does, manufacturing is destined for a larger role in the American economic conversation. Many promises have been made this year to the people and the communities whose ability to thrive has long depended upon manufacturing. The campaign’s thrust should move them to the heart of our efforts to seek a path up from the financial catastrophe that engulfed the country in 2008.

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