Business Roundtable President John Engler called into Detroit TV station  WXYZ's live election coverage this afternoon. Reporter Chuck Stokes asked Engler what it is that BRT's CEOs want from Washington. Engler responded:

I represent CEOs of major companies…They represent some $7 trillion of revenue, so they’re big companies. For the most part they’re pretty global companies.

What they have are massive responsibilities where they have to lead. They can’t put decisions off. They can’t defer hard choices.  They have to make them or they get fired. I mean, they’re out of their jobs.

And they want to see leadership in Washington in the most urgent way.

We put out in March, Chuck, a report, a “CEO plan” we called it, for taking action to create jobs and economic development. It was “Taking Action for America.”

Most of these men and women who are these CEOs were born here, went to school here, grew up and became successful leaders here.

They want their companies to do well, and they know their companies will do well if the country’s doing well. They want to hire. They want to invest. And so they need decisions to be made to provide certainty.

I think that’s what they’re saying. “Out of this election: Leadership.”