Amid a massive backlash from the American public and a stampeding retreat from her supporters, Democratic National Committee adviser Hilary Rosen backtracked from her words about Ann Romney last night on CNN, stating a few moments ago, “As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen … I apologize to Ann Romney.” Here’s the complete statement:
Let’s put the faux “war against stay at home moms” to rest once and for all. As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. In response to Mitt Romney on the campaign trail referring to his wife as a better person to answer questions about women than he is, I was discussing his lack of a record on the plight of women’s financial struggles. Here is my more fulsome view of the issues. As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay at home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me. It is an issue I live every day. I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance.
This is not an apology. It is a declaration of war. As I pointed out earlier today, the piece to which Rosen links says that Ann Romney is not an “expert” on women, and essentially makes the claim that she can’t speak for women because she was a stay-at-home mom. She says that gender equality isn’t a talking point for her, but she also deems certain lifestyle choices disqualifying in terms of representing other women. This is no “phony war.” It’s a very real war, started by the left–and they’re only declaring it “phony” now that their true feelings about women with whom they disagree politically are revealed.
The question is whether the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee will apologize to Romney, and whether they will fire Rosen over this incident. Rosen has long been associated with the Obama team and the DNC, and her apology means virtually nothing considering that she’s still defending the substance of the comments.