“Mommy Wars” Declared in the US

In the United States, every day is “Back to the Future.” After the surreal debates on contraception and abortion rights, the controversy is now focused on… the role of stay-at-home moms! A similar spotlight shone on this issue twenty years ago, when Hillary Clinton declared that she could have, in fact, chosen to bake cakes and drink tea, but that she had instead decided to pursue a career before her husband had become a public figure. The affair was widely publicized, as it was believed to reflect the so-called “Mommy Wars”: war between working women and stay-at-home moms. Here we go again!

Tension has been mounting for weeks. When Romney said he would target family planning if elected, Democrats accused him of leading a war against women. Romney struck back, asserting that women were actually victims of Obama’s policies, since they accounted for 92 percent of jobs lost during his term in office, an argument that the Obama camp deemed rather clumsy. The Republican candidate has a real problem in this campaign. Having been preoccupied for months with ultra-conservative themes, he recently trailed Obama by 19 points in the poll with women. On Thursday his wife probably helped him to regain a few points.

It all comes from a simple remark: Mitt Romney always refers to his wife, Ann, as the one who informs him on women’s economic issues. On Thursday, Hilary Rosen, a democratic advocate, told CNN that Ann Romney wasn’t very credible on these subjects since “she has never worked a day in her life.”

Oops, a blunder! Immediately, Ann Romney created a twitter account and sent her first message, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.” She accumulated, in less than two days, more than 35,000 followers.

It is difficult to know what reactions such a remark would have aroused in France, but in the United States, the “Rosengate,” as it is being called, has sparked a fire: “This administration would do well to stop disrespecting stay-at-home moms and listen to them,” commented Penny Nance, president of a conservative women’s organization. Twitter is exploding. Some are mocking the “hard choices” Ann Romney has faced, with her several houses and loads of domestic staff. Others defend “the courageous mother.” With her unconditional support for her husband, and as an energetic mother, a grandmother 16 times and a cancer survivor who is entirely devoted to her family, she benefits from a well of sympathy far deeper than that of her husband. This blonde with blue eyes, nicknamed “The Boss” by her husband, embodies the perfect television “soccer mom,” the one who devotes her days to taking her kids from one activity to the next, the feminine ideal of an America that places family values above all else.

Among Democrats, panic set in. Obama’s adviser, David Axelrod, hastily tweeted a disavowal of Hilary Rosen. Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign director, summoned the Democratic activist to apologize. And it was once again on Twitter, currently the heart of these media battles, that Michelle Obama drove the point home: “Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected.” But it was too late, the damage was done.

Barack Obama, who has always defended women’s right to contraception and equal pay, now finds himself on the defensive. He may say “there is no tougher job than being a mom,” but it’s been a blow to his camp — the first real misstep of his campaign.

After trying to defend her position — saying she had the greatest respect for Ann Romney, but that she was not qualified to speak for the difficulties most Americans face — Hilary Rosen eventually apologized: “As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is,” Rosen said in a statement. “As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen.”

Mitt Romney should thank his wife. Ann Romney, who just entered the campaign, is for the moment his greatest asset.