Toward the end of summer, I was part of an assembled mass of governors and manufacturers at a Walmart-led summit in Florida. My boss, the Secretary of Commerce (or most accurately, my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss) was there, too.

There we all were, attending a summit designed to revitalize, rejuvenate, and re-establish the preeminence of American manufacturing. The agenda was lofty, ambitious, and inspiring; a well-orchestrated pep rally in support of American manufacturing led by the world’s largest retailer.

As Walmart President Bill Simon concluded his closing remarks, he told the audience, “Making things is part of who we are.” He went on to state, “You see, we all identify with what we made in our home towns. I’m from Hartford, Connecticut, where we made Pratt & Whitney engines and Colt firearms.”

So there I was, in the very first row (well, right behind the reserved rows), putting myself in Simon’s shoes and giving myself the same speech. My internal audience was treated to this gem: “I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and we make Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Miller beer.” (He has better speech writers than I do.)

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