Big Election, Small Things

Another week, another mind-boggling meme from our Commander-in-Chief. This time, President Obama and his team are mocking Mitt Romney for using the phrase “women in binders” to describe how he launched a special effort to seek out the resumes of women to hire for his administration as governor of Massachusetts. Sure, it came out in a funny way, but to seize on that phrase and make it a campaign theme is astonishingly small and unserious for a presidential race.

Does Obama really want to highlight Romney’s impressive record on hiring women? Romney had more top women in his administration than any other state at the time. He also worked to provide more flexible hours to balance work and family life.

Meanwhile, President Obama pays the women on his staff $0.82 for every dollar the men get and his administration has a reputation for being a sexist boys’ club. Former White House communications director Anita Dunn is quoted as saying the Obama White House “actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.” Former head of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer even said she “felt like a piece of meat.”

I am often reminded of what Obama said at the 2008 DNC: “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.”  Every day, his campaign is making it smaller and smaller, and the President’s poll numbers keep dropping and dropping.

This is a big election about big things. The biggest right now is the Benghazi scandal. What did the President know and when did he know it? And does he even care? On Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” – yes, the President of the United States is once again making statements about the attack on our consulate on a comedic talk show – he said, “If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.”

No, Mr. President. You don’t describe the assassination of Americans as “not optimal.” Running your campaign on Big Bird and binders is not optimal. Your presidency is not optimal – and I think the American people are going to show you that on election night.