Findlay's invitation to Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, was reciprocated with a signed response yesterday from Mr. Obama.
But whether he'll actually visit the place now known both as "Flag City USA" and as a hotbed of lies about Mr. Obama is as hard to predict as the outcome of the election this fall.
"Thank you for your heartfelt letter and your invitation to visit Findlay," Mr. Obama said in the three-paragraph letter signed simply "Barack Obama."
"I applaud your efforts to push back against the forces of division and defend the real Findlay that you know so well," he wrote.
On Wednesday, Mayor Pete Sehnert issued a public invitation to Mr. Obama to a town hall meeting to reach mutual "recovery" in the wake of a national newspaper article Monday that delved into false beliefs about Mr. Obama.
The article in the Washington Post said that Findlay residents were being fed false tales about Mr. Obama's religion and nationality through word-of-mouth communication and the Internet that were coming to be widely believed. The article outraged some residents of Findlay who said it made residents there look like hicks and bigots.Mr. Sehnert said he was glad about the exchange of letters.
"I don't know about these things but I kind of figured like he might not be able to make it," Mr. Sehnert said. "If he makes it, people will have the chance to ask him questions. At least it showed we extended our hand and we're not a bunch of Neanderthals down here."
Given Findlay's established Republican leanings a visit by the presumed Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, is a possibility, Mr. Sehnert said.
Mr. Sehnert's letter - penned by a University of Findlay communications professor - made a parallel between the damage done to Mr. Obama by rumors and the damage done to Findlay by severe flooding in 2007.
"Perhaps at this historic time when events will focus on healing, a town hall meeting between you and Findlay residents might correct misunderstandings to create another kind of recovery," the letter said.
Another misunderstanding that could be cleared up is the one that appeared in Mr. Obama's letter, which commented on the joy of celebrating the Fourth of July - "perhaps while watching a waving flag woven in Findlay."
Findlay is Flag City because of its love of displaying the American flag, not for making them.
"No we don't have a factory that makes flags," Mr. Sehnert said.
Contact Tom Troy at:
tomtroy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6058.
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