Heartland footnote

I'm feeling good about that mid-size SUV now sitting in my garage. Because of the way the deal came together, my choice wasn't the result of exhaustive research -- my options were limited by the selection of used vehicles that the dealer had on the lot at the time.

So I've been doing my research after the fact -- not ideal, certainly, but helpful in the long run. In the process, I've learned that my specific vehicle was built just 80 miles west of here at the GM assembly plant in Moraine, Ohio.

Considering my penchant for keeping commerce close to home, doing business at a dealer four miles away was an easy decision -- buying a product assembled in Ohio was an unexpected bonus.

That's the good news. The bad news is that GM will close Moraine Assembly for good on December 23, 2008. Back in June, GM had said that the plant would cease operation in 2010, but four months later moved up the shutdown to the end of this year, ending 57 years of production and idling 1,400 American workers.

I'm not going to launch into a long-winded commentary about why such things are happening all over the old Rust Belt, and I won't wax furious about how American workers are grinding under capitalist whimsy.

I'll simply say that it gives me pride to know that the hands that built my vehicle were those of my fellow Buckeyes. I'm saddened that these men and women soon will join countless other Heartlanders who are picking up the pieces of their American dreams.

I say again, we need to reclaim the Heartland for our own.