Unless you've been living in a cave, you probably know by now that Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney have been at one another's throats -- in the kindest possible way, of course. Rosen struck out at Mrs. Romney on CNN last night, noting that the presidential candidate's wife "never worked a day in her life." Her point being that Ann's not fit to be Mitt's top advisor on women's economic issues, as she can't relate to working women who are struggling to make ends meet these days.
Of course that point has been misconstrued and overanalyzed a bazillion different ways in the last 24 hours, and big shots on both sides of the aisle have felt the need to pipe up with their opinions. Notably, Michelle Obama chimed in via tweet today. And what she had to contribute was ... well, pretty disappointing.
The FLOTUS tweeted, "Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected. –mo"
... Yes? And? That is certainly a true statement, something just about every American can agree with. It's something I'm sure both Ann Romney and Hilary Rosen agree with. I'm sure Michelle's office decided that as First Lady, it's her job to weigh in on this contentious story, but I'm sorry, her tweet just doesn't add anything to the conversation. She might as well have said, "Now now, ladies, come on, can't we all just get along?" It was completely safe and totally apolitical. In other words, a missed opportunity.
This showdown opened the door for Mrs. Obama to say something that could have made her husband's likely opponent look weak. I'm not saying she should have put Ann down or blatantly sided with Hilary. But while all this cattiness is making headlines, Mitt's been on the campaign trail spewing lies about how Obama's presidency has posed a threat to women's economic security. What a joke.
It may not be Michelle's job to set that record straight, but she could have contributed more. Gotten in a subtle punch or dig -- instead of playing it so boring and so safe. We know she has it in her! (If not, she should consult Hillary Clinton.) Ah well, at least the election season has really only just begun ... so there's still plenty of time for her to go head-to-head with Ann and show us what a FLOTUS who "gets" the average American woman looks like.
How do you feel about Michelle's tweet?
Image via US Department of Labor/Flickr
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Comments 17
I actually liked what she said. And don't we mothers all work hard rather we work out or inside the home? I'm really sick of the beating women are taking these days from everywhere. I really wish this site "CafeMom" would learn to unite us and defend all of our choices (even if they are different then you own personal choice). Women should not have to justify the choices they make when they are the right choices for them. Choices such as marriage or not, to have children or not, how to birth their children, how to feed their children, if to work or not.Real life and real life choices are hard for many of us and for so many women to feel either threaten or judged by other women (esp. in internet world) is ridiculous. I feel really sad by some of the comments I've read on this site lately.
I generally agree with you on things. I am a working mother who is a happy working mother. I had issued with what Ann Romney said but I also have issues with how Rosen put the original question. The First Lady said exactly what should have been said in this situation.