06 Jan 2006 Herbs and Shrubs Abandon Schwarzenegger?
A John M. Broder January 6 New York Times article contains this:
Mr. Schwarzenegger used the speech to propose policies intended to appeal to working families and moderate voters, who all but abandoned him last year as he pursued a conservative agenda.
What is the definition of “working family”? We hear that phrase in politicians’ speeches, where it typically is used because it has universal appeal but otherwise is too meaningless to offend any potential voter.Just in case I was being obtuse, I stuck the phrase “working family” into dictionary.com. It responded: “No entry found for working family. Did you mean vervain family?” I was game, and obtained this result: “n: family of New World tropical and subtropical herbs and shrubs and trees.”
Hmmm. Probably not the definition the New York Times had in mind. But what is? Don’t tell me it is all families headed by one or two working adults, as that definition would include families across the entire political spectrum.