This commercial (view below) introduces Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson to Wisconsin as a hands-on industrialist walking through his factory in safety glasses. He's surrounded by regular-guy factory workers from central casting, also wearing safety glasses. "Remember when Wisconsin companies manufactured products and sold them all over the world?" Johnson asks. "In our company we don't export jobs, we export plastic."
That's cool. I leaned forward to find out how Johnson plans to help other Wisconsin companies sell their products all over the world, but he never gets around to that. Apparently, it's enough for him that his own company is doing well.
Johnson goes on to argue that "we have to boot professional politicians out of Washington," but he doesn't explain how that will help state businesses. Instead, he points at the camera and jerks his thumb a lot.
Maybe that kind of exaggerated gesturing, coupled with a widespread use of safety glasses, will get Wisconsin's economy back on its feet. Hey, anything's worth a try.
