--- Lib/distutils/command/check.py@72776:add444274c3d
+++ Lib/distutils/command/check.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 """
 __revision__ = "$Id$"
 
+from distutils import dist
 from distutils.core import Command
 from distutils.errors import DistutilsSetupError
 
@@ -108,6 +109,8 @@
     def check_restructuredtext(self):
         """Checks if the long string fields are reST-compliant."""
         data = self.distribution.get_long_description()
+        if not isinstance(data, unicode):
+            data = data.decode(dist.PKG_INFO_ENCODING)
         for warning in self._check_rst_data(data):
             line = warning[-1].get('line')
             if line is None: