Republican presidential candidates are meeting too many businessmen in their travels and too few unemployed folks or working-class wage earners, at least in the eyes of the Washington Post.
Post staffer Philip Rucker lamented in his 23-paragraph August 25 story that in a recent "50-minute session" with voters in New Hampshire that former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) -- who "is campaigning to be the jobs president" -- "hadn't heard from anyone who is unemployed, underemployed or simply clocks in for a working wage every day."
Rucker turned to "Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, who is neutral in the race," to complain that, in Bonjean's words, no one "truly identifies with the woes and has channeled the anxieties of voters."
"To be sure, they all interact with a cross-section of the public when they visit diners, stroll along downtown Main Streets or host town hall meetings," Rucker admitted, "But in their most intimate campaign settings, when they actually chew over economy policy and solicit comments rather than questions, the candidates usually hear from the employers, not the workers," he complained.
While perhaps the opposite complaint could be leveled at President Obama and Democratic officeholders in general, I'm not expecting the Post to write such a story for balance.
