Former Rep. Vin Weber, a Minnesota Republican and Romney backer, remembers when Mr. Ryan called him for advice on running for his House seat in a blue-collar swing district.

WSJ: Choice of Paul Ryan Means Medicare Could Be Hotly Debated in Campaign

But unlike members of the Kennedy clan, Capuano who is of Irish-Italian lineage brings to the House a pragmatic, blue-collar progressivism, a byproduct of his long mayoral tenure in working-class Somerville.

CNN: Candidate Profile from Congressional Quarterly

Palin, who is considering a run in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, is using her public platforms to reassemble the coalition of security hawks, social conservatives and blue collar workers that propelled Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Sarah Palin's friendship

Just as in manufacturing, the solution to the growing complexity of white-collar work is to do less of it in-house.

ECONOMIST: Men and machines

It is sometimes said that members of the House of Lords only get really hot under the collar about sex, hunting and parliamentary reform.

BBC: Gloves to come off in secret courts battle

The organization thinks the root of the problem lies in a surplus of white-collar talent and a reluctance among small companies to hire in-house lawyers and other professionals.

WSJ: Danish Job-Seekers Sit in Storefront Window to Find Work, Draw Employers' Attention

According to media reports, in a White House full of elites, Joe Biden is often a spokesman for blue-collar America.

CNN: Commentary: Do Obama, Biden agree on immigration?