common touch

plural common touches

1. idiomaticThe personal quality of showing understanding of and sympathy for the concerns of ordinary people; rapport with and acceptance by ordinary people, usually in a celebrity or leader.

   The admiral is the first enlisted man to lead the Navy, and Navy aides are busy cultivating his image as a four-star officer with a common touch.

   1996 May 4, Eric Schmitt, “New Top Admiral to Push Wider Combat Role for Women”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 Oct 2013

   3 more examples

   If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch; . . . Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it

   1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—

   The crowd roared its approval and gave a standing ovation to the new President of Africa's most populous nation. That common touch has served Babangida well.

   1986 February 17, John Moody, “Nigeria Striking a Delicate Balance”, in Time, retrieved 16 Oct 2013

   From the first moments of his papacy it has been evident that Francis is a “people person,” with a gentle common touch and a gift for pastoral outreach.

   2013 September 25, Jeff Jacoby, “Pope’s interview is fodder for the culture war”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 16 Oct 2013