"You know essentially, you've taken on sort of the most sympathetic person in the candidate's realm, the wife, who is taking care of the children, supporting the husband, doing everything she can because she loves him."--- Hilary Rosen said on Anderson Cooper 360 according to a CNN transcript from May 19, 2008. (Source- Campaign 2012)A Democratic consultant/strategist and DNC advisor, Hilary Rosen, who has visited the White House 35 times and is quoted above from 2008, has now decided it is a good strategy to attack Ann Romney, mother of five, grandmother of 16, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and is also a breast cancer survivor, for being a stay-at-home mother and says "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."
Video below:
Instantly a Twitter storm of criticism hit Rosen and Ann Romney debuted on Twitter as well with a response:
I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.
— Ann Romney (@AnnDRomney) April 12, 2012
Candidate's wives do go out on the campaign trail and their words are fair game in a political battle because at times they are a surrogate for their spouse, representing them and their views, but Rosen's comments were made because Mitt Romney mentions his wife when talking about women's issues and had nothing to do with public statements made by Ann Romney herself.
The criticisms against Rosen came out so fast and furiously that the Obama reelection campaign team instantly tried to distance themselves from Rosen.
Via ABC News:
"I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a tweet.
Top Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod also tweeted his disapproval: "Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive."
According to an update on this issue over at The Politico, Rosen doubled down and wrote a piece at Huffington Post which referred to Mitt Romney as "hiding behind his wife's skirt," which was later removed from the originally published piece.
UPDATE: Rosen appears to have rewritten her Huffington Post blog post last night; the line about Romney hiding behind his wife's skirt is no longer there, and now the column mirrors one that ran on CNN's website.
With one interview, a Democratic strategist, DNC advisor, frequent White House visitor, has just helped Mitt Romney connect with women voters in a way he himself hasn't been able to in all the years he has been campaigning, by highlighting his respect for his wife and her opinions and perspective.
This, in turn, has also brought even anti-Romney Republicans to unite behind the Romney family as a whole for perhaps the first time in this entire campaign season.
Mitt Romney should send Rosen a huge thank you basket.
[Major Update] Liberals go insane over at Twitter calling Ann Romney a cunt, whore, bitch and more.
[Update] Follow up piece with video of Ann Romney responding to Rosen's comments.
[Update] The firestorm continues at Twitter as Rosen continues to dig herself deeper.