Local and national media outlets reported that Romney was the picture of empathy as he sat at the Marshall, Mich. kitchen table of 51-year-old Elizabeth Sachs. Romney photo-op was with staffer's mom

A well-publicized weekend photo-op for Mitt Romney turns out to have been missing a piece of information that might have undermined its credibility: the unemployed single mom at the center of the event was the mother of a Romney staffer.

Local and national media outlets, including Politico.com, reported that Romney was the picture of empathy as he sat at the Marshall, Mich. kitchen table of 51-year-old Elizabeth Sachs, a single mother of two who lost her job as a retail manager – as well as her health insurance – and is running out of money as she tries to sell her house to move to Florida.


What wasn’t reported – and what the Romney campaign did not reveal at the time – was that one of Sachs’ sons, Steve Sachs, is a paid employee of Romney’s campaign, organizing five counties in Michigan.

Kevin Madden, Romney’s campaign spokesman, said Sachs “work in the field doesn’t change (his mother’s) situation.”

The campaign did not disclose the relationship, Madden acknowledged. But he added “reporters were given unfettered access to meet with Mrs. Sachs and talk with her when she invited them into her home.”

He said the campaign was open about Elizabeth Sachs’ allegiance. “She is, of course, a Romney supporter who was identified by the campaign because she believes … Romney is the best leader for America’s future and the best prepared to help revitalize Michigan’s economy,” Madden said.

Steve Sachs, who also worked on Republican Dick DeVos’ unsuccessful 2006 campaign for Michigan governor, “believes Mitt Romney is the best leader for a better future in Michigan and is working hard to help his campaign,” Madden said.

Sachs, whose Facebook page features a picture of him with Romney, is not listed in Romney’s Federal Election Commission reports as having received payments through the end of September, but Madden said “he only started working with the campaign recently.”

A campaign press release in May announced his appointment as chairman of Michigan Students for Romney at Kellogg Community College.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has largely staked his presidential campaign on Michigan, where he was raised and where his father served as governor.

Polls show him running neck-and-neck with Arizona Sen. John McCain, who Romney has blasted for saying “some of the jobs that have left the state of Michigan are not coming back.”

Romney has campaigned in Michigan on a pledge to help revive the state’s struggling economy. In introducing Sachs, Romney discussed the economic difficulties in the community and described the particular plight of his hostess — but made no mention of her ties to his campaign.

"It means a real tough setting for a mom with two sons," Romney said. "One son is still in high school. Another son [is] getting ready to go off into the police academy in the west."

Ironically, when it came time to take questions from the reporters gathered around Sachs' kitchen table, Romney joked: "If you don’t want to answer any questions, that’s fine, too. What I’ve learned is, if they ask a question, you can answer something else."

"Oh, ok," Sachs responded, laughing along with Romney.

"Just talk about the general subject," Romney suggested.

Talking to a small handful of reporters after Romney and most of his press pack had left the kitchen, Sachs offered details about her age, job situation, and her effort to sell her home.

When asked about her children, she only said that one was "20, soon to be 21" and that another was a teenager.

The Associated Press distributed a photograph of Romney and Elizabeth Sachs kitchen chat, which ran on the Boston Globe’s Web site and CBS’s Harry Smith interviewed Romney from Sachs’ home.