Adele Ferguson: News mishaps on primary trail

IT’S NICE to see that even the uppity Seattle Times can pull a Dewey.

Or did you miss the headline in the Feb. 2 edition “Gingrich to get nod from Trump.”

True, the story did say a couple of inches down after Donald Trump will announce his support of Gingrich on Thursday in Las Vegas, “according to a senior campaign official.”

A wiser head in the newspaper business would have had a question mark in the headline. The Times obviously bought the endorsement since it also wrote “That nod may mitigate the early impression of disarray in the Gingrich campaign in Nevada, evident as he hit the ground after a defeat in the Florida primary and became embroiled in a dust-up over a canceled meeting with Nevada’s governor.”

Trump, of course, did not endorse Gingrich but gave his blessings to Romney instead.

I haven’t seen any “oops!” story in the Times but I could have missed it.

Romney is being accused of poor timing in the Trump deal (billionaire endorses millionaire) on the heels of his unfortunate importune stupid pick your word statement that he wasn’t concerned about the very poor because “we have a safety net there . If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”

DEMOCRATS trumpeted that Romney had no compassion for the poor. Republicans who have not settled on Romney as their choice to take out Obama said he appears to be in favor of the safety net as an entitlement they’d like to get rid of. Gingrich pounced with what the poor really need is not a safety net but a trampoline so they can bounce up into a better living.

The thing that bothered me though in the coverage of this New York Times story was the picture of Romney that ran with it. He was wearing some used looking blue jeans and a checkered shirt. I don’t expect or want him to wear $300 suits at all his appearances but he apparently is trying to dress like his audiences and this one was in Eagan, Minn. The few other men I could see in the picture were wearing suits and white shirts.

Gingrich also has had some foot in mouth trouble. He said businesses should hire poor youths as janitors so they could learn how to have a job on their way up in the world. The Ds came unglued at the very idea of putting poor youths in such poor positions.

It’s the labor unions that put the kibosh on such doings though. When building contractor Joe Mentor was one of my Republican legislators, he got the idea of putting retarded kids to work at restaurants he owned. They did menial work because that was all they were capable of doing but it earned them a pay check, they were happy to be of use and he was happy to help them feel useful.

THE UNIONS just raised hell, accusing him of demeaning these poor unfortunates and he soon called a halt to it. He was constantly at war with the unions because he didn’t hire union employees. He cared about people though. One time he was on the ferry from Seattle and met a woman with an ailing or disabled child. Joe inquired about their circumstances, then pulled out a business card, wrote on it and said this is my doctor. Take him this card and your child. I will call and tell him you’re coming. He’ll take care of you and I will pay for it.

Joe never told me this story. Someone else did. It was typical Joe.

The Democrats and our president have worked hard to make being wealthy something to be ashamed of if you’re a Republican but there are a lot of wealthy people like Joe who share in ways we don’t always hear of.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa., 98340.)