Ann Romney, Mitt's top policy advisor on women's issues (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)
Here's what CNN contributor Hilary Rosen
said that has spawned so much fauxtrage among Republicans:
What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. And when I listen to my wife, that's what I'm hearing.
Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school and how do we -- why do we worry about their future?
Okay, maybe I'm just ignorant, but I think Rosen was totally wrong in what she said. It's clearly false that Ann Romney has "never worked a day in her life."
For example, Ann Romney is now Mitt Romney's top policy aide and spokeswoman on women's issues. That's tough work! And she's doing it during wartime, no less. And it's not just any old war: it's a war on women. And she's on the wrong side! I mean, would you like to defend giving employers the right to ban birth control coverage from employee insurance plans? Didn't think so! So let's cut her some slack: she's got a damn tough job. Nearly impossible, in fact.
On the other hand, Rosen's central point was obviously that Ann Romney has never had to deal with the same sorts of financial issues most women have had to face. And despite all the furor from Romneyland, that's a point that even Ann Romney herself acknowledges to be accurate. As she said earlier this morning: "I haven't struggled as much financially as some people have." Exactly! And that's the point Rosen was trying to make.