You may be like me. I grew up in Hudson. Graduated from high school in Hudson. Now I'm a father of two. A grandfather of three. A businessman who works with all kinds of people every day.
But you are a different, too, in one very important way. You live in Ohio now. What the media calls "ground zero" in these national elections. Despite my life-long love for Ohio, my family responsibilities have taken me out to the state of Washington. Here is not "ground zero."
So you have the opportunity to cast a vote that will count far more than mine. What you decide will send either Barack Obama or John McCain on to the White House.
I hope that you will exercise two things that I remember the most about the Ohioans I grew up with. A good, solid common sense and a clear willingness to look out for each other in tough times. These are some of those tough times, for sure.
What seems most obvious and practical to me is that we need new leadership and soon. While Barack Obama is not a perfect candidate, I believe that his values, priorities and leadership skills are, on balance, more of what our country needs now.
While I wish that I could get the best of both candidates in one man, I can't. So I'll have to rely on you and your good judgment to elect Barack Obama next Tuesday. Thanks from a fellow Hudsonian far from home.