Ann Romney v Hilary Rosen: what politicos and the public are saying

Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen criticised Ann Romney on CNN last night, saying she "hasn't worked a day in her life." Ann Romney responded by tweeting: "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." Rosen's comment and Romney's response have fuelled an ongoing debate. We're collecting commentary from those weighing in, including politicos, reporters and readers. Tweet us @GuardianUS , or toss in your thoughts in the comments below. Irin Carmon on the real war on moms. This is not about the so-called Mommy Wars, where mothers with a paycheck sneer at the ones without one – a binary simply not reflected in women's lived experience. It's about class and about how government policy compounds its impact on households with kids. ~ Irin Carmon, Salon Dashiell Bennett on how the debate detracts from women's issues In this case, it's possible that both Rosen and Ann Romney are right. (Being a stay-at-home is a real job and the fact that Romney could choose to stay home and raise kids is a fortunate one. But neither one qualifies or disqualifies someone from having an informed opinion about something.) Their debate about what work really means distracts from actual policy issues, like the Lilly Ledbetter Act or Wisconsin's equal pay law. – Dashiell Bennett, The Atlantic Wire If Ann Romney thinks being a working mom is difficult why is she unbothered that her husband supports cutting child & health care for them? — Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) April 12, 2012 Cassie Murdoch on Rosen's 'flawed approach' It's not like Rosen is picking on one of Mitt's grandkids. After all, it was Mitt himself who chose to give Ann a central role in his campaign to win the delicate hearts of women. If he's going to rely on her for economic advice, then we should be allowed to examine her qualifications on that issue—which is what Rosen was trying to do, albeit in a bit of hackneyed way. Grrrr. – Cassie Murdoch, Jezebel Chris Cillizza on the effect on the presidential race What Rosen's comments do is put Romney on the offensive on the issue. Ann Romney's appearance on Fox News Channel this morning and a conference call with several of Romney's female surrogates — New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte among them — is evidence of the Romney team taking the fight to Obama. – Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post Jason Linkins on how Rosen v. Romney means nothing to election. Let's recall, as well, that after many days were spent dinging Romney on Eric Fehrnstrom's Etch A Sketch line, it turned out that whole meme went largely unnoticed by the general populace. If "Etch A Sketch" didn't matter, then Hilary Rosen will matter even less, and a week from now the only people who will even remember it will all reside inside the Beltway. ~ Jason Linkins, The Huffington Post Also, because I can't get over this, please imagine female candidate saying, "My husband talks to men and tells me about their concerns." — Kate Harding (@KateHarding) April 12, 2012 I agree with @ AnnDRomney . Motherhood is work.Please let me know how much the GOP is willing to pay me per child to do it. — robinmarty (@robinmarty) April 12, 2012 Steve Kornacki on how the Romney campaign is boosted For Romney's campaign, the chance to play victim couldn't possibly come at a better time. There's now clear polling evidence that a large number of women have moved from their camp to Obama's since the GOP picked a fight over contraception a few months ago. – Steve Kornacki, Salon Having a couple of Cadilliac's to maintain, while overseeing 3 houses AND raising 5 boysall on a monarch's budget is hard. — Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) April 12, 2012 Ruth Marcus on Ann Romney not being a typical working woman. You don't have to be a combatant on either side of the Mommy Wars to recognize that Ann Romney's privileged life experience is not typical. She's never had to worry about the price of a gallon of gas as she filled up the Cadillacs. ~ Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post Ali Harden and Kristen Hawn agree on Ann Romney. We need to work together to find solutions to the big problems facing our country — and steer clear of the ridiculous sound-bite warfare. Rosen should know better. ~ AliHarden, Politico While Republican pundits will take this perceived opportunity to attack the president and congressional Democrats on women's issues, the American people continue to face very real challenges. ~ Kristen Hawn, Politico