"Dirty Jobs" star and Ford spokesman Mike Rowe appeared at a rally for Mitt Romney in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday.
Romney was hosting a roundtable discussion on the economy and job creation with local business leaders.
Rowe, who hosts a show on the Discovery Channel in which he tries out disgusting and dangerous jobs for a day, made it a point not to endorse Romney, though the two men were on stage at the same time and they alternated addressing the crowd.
"I wanted to be here today because the governor invited me," said Rowe. "He answered a letter that I've written to a lot of people over the last five or six years. I personally and honestly believe that we have unintentionally disconnected ourselves, in a really fundamental way, from the most important part of our workforce."
Rowe spoke about the difficulties American workers have been experiencing, particularly manual laborers. "I mean, there's got to be a better way to be happy and successful in your career than simply assuming a massive amount of debt and exiting an educational program that gives you a degree without training," he said.
Rowe joked about his previous visit to Ohio for years ago for an episode of Dirty Jobs. He spent a day with sanitation workers picking up roadkill. "I've been assured by the governor and his team that today will not be anywhere near as bloody or smelly as the last time I was in Ohio."
But he got more serious as he continued to speak. Rowe lamented the diminishing role hard work and skilled labor play in American culture. "Pig farmers, electricians, plumbers, bridge painters, jam makers, blacksmiths, brewers, coal miners, carpenters, crab fisherman, oil drillers - they all tell me the same thing over and over, again and again - our country has become emotionally disconnected from an essential part of our workforce," he said.
"We are no longer impressed with cheap electricity, paved roads, and indoor plumbing. We take our infrastructure for granted, and the people who build it."
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