The point, dear Margie, is that what Hillary Rosen said about Mrs. Romney---that she never worked a day in her life----was probably true although Rosen subsequently apologized. No doubt, given Mr. Romney's affluence, and the two Cadillacs Mitt reported she owned, she had lots of staff helping her to raise her children. I suppose Rosen overstated, but her basic point was that Mrs. R. had little if any knowledge of the lives of ordinary women, even those who stayed home with their children but had little help.

Stay-at-home Moms had to be part of the tax equation, where their work is acknowledged and compensated accordingly, assessed tax liabilities equivalent to those who chose to work outside the home...This way no one could trivialize this very important job housewives do...After all, household helps do declare their income to the IRS...Someone suggested the income of $30 million or more for Ms. Ann Romney for all the work she did looking after the Romney household...The point is housewives should have a regular paycheck or its equivalent so we can know how much they are really worth...This should apply to stay-at-home husbands as well...Statements like those of Ms. Rosen won't ever be uttered once again.

The point, dear Arthur, is that women are over this. However we feel about Mitt, most of us prefer not to attack his wife's choices about parenting and working outside the home. Margie, I wish that your post could be in the New York Times as well as the Easton Patch.

Rosen's comment was out of context. Gov. Romney commented that his wife tells him the women she talks to think the economy is most important. No one said Mrs. Romney spoke as an expert on the economy. She was just reporting what she heard. In this case it is irrelevant whether Mrs. Romney knows anything about the economy - just what others are thinking.
The media also took Ms. Rosen's response out of context , a necessary ploy for sensationalizm. She did not phrase her comment as if she was speaking to someone retarded (therefore the media jumped to misunderstand) but she was speaking about her opinion of the understanding of women who do not work outside the home. True or not, the context explains she is referring to working outside the home

It disgusts me that the wives and families become fodder in a political year. This is none of our business. It is no one's business if I never worked, why should a political wife be any different. It is all the assine pundits who feel they have to make a name for themselves by pointing out these little tidbits. Jackie didn't work, Nancy didn't work, Roselin didn't work, Barbara didn't work. Yes they all had their charity's and the "boards" that they sat on by request, Get over this stuff and start running a real election. The whole thing disgusts me.

Thank you, Ellen, for the kind words. Arthur, the Romneys might have had the money to hired hot-and-cold running nannies and maids to take care of the children and the house. But unless Hilary Rosen lived with the Romneys for the 20 plus years they were raising five boys, she doesn't know how much Ann Romney did to raise them. Rosen can feel free to point out that Mrs. Romney hasn't experienced the financial struggles and uncertainities of the poor and middle-class but her gaffe was just red meat to the Culture Warriors. As Wilfredo suggests, no one would ever say that a daycare worker or a housecleaner or a chef "never worked a day in her life" but those are some of the jobs stay-at-home moms do everyday. I understand what Rosen meant but I think the ensuing controversy just distracts from real issues.

This was an excellent article as both sides of the political arena try to make hay of this issue. I think that the whole "War on women" tagline was a terrible initiative from either side of the aisle. Whether or not a woman (or man) decides to stay at home to care for their children is a personal decision and should not matter in politics. My wife chose to stay at home when we started a family. I have a male cousin who stays at home to raise his daughter while his wife continues her career as a mathematics professor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. I believe Ms. Rosen was set up by the DNC to run this issue up the flagpole and is now being rolled under the bus by the sitting administration. Cohesive family units are the basis for a fully functional community and I don't think that political ideology should matter when it comes to raising our children.

Stumbled upon your brilliant article, thank you. I too have been on both sides while raising children and appreciate the insights. While I was able to stay home and raise three children, I often thought of mothers who worked outside the home and especially those for whom it was not a choice. I respected and tried to help when I could. On the other hand, I also worked fulltime at one point but did not ever feel like my peers at home were not working too. Same story, different crew. We all need to judge less and help each other and the media needs to stop stoking the embers.