As attacks continue on Mrs. Romney, Obama should explain his family’s choice
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 3:30PM 
The ongoing attacks on Gov. Mitt Romney’s wife Ann don’t surprise me—I predicted them.
What’s missing in all the debates about Mrs. Romney’s choice to work at home fulltime, and the wealth-bashing that surrounds it?
A few questions should be pointed at our president.
Well, since the Left brought up the topic to begin with, when Democrat strategist Hilary Rosen exclaimed Mrs. Romney had “never worked a day in her life,” as goes the court so goes the Chattersphere.
The Left opened a door and President Barack Obama walked right through it. He said he and First Lady Michelle Obama couldn’t afford for her to stay home with their daughters—that would have been a “luxury.”
Please note our president parsed it as “stay at home” rather than “work at home.” Slip o' the tongue, no doubt.
I wrote about that—it was no “luxury.” My own choice to work at home was an informed decision acknowledging the sacrifices I knew my husband and I would have to make. My first book opportunity, for instance—I rejected it because I knew there would be significant travel and my first daughter was less than one year old.
Let’s do a bit of time travel with the Obamas. One personal takeaway is that the Obamas were certainly making more dough than my husband and I were when my children were small.
Our president was elected to the Illinois State Senate and served from 1997-2004. That service was in addition to his teaching position at the University of Chicago from 1992-2004. Obama became a U.S. senator in 2005 and served until 2008. He also published two books, one in 1995 and another in 2006.
Let’s recap. Our president drew a salary and benefits from his state senator job. He drew a salary from his teaching position. And he earned royalties on the sale of both books.
Obama’s children were born in 1998 and 2001.
Why didn’t our president simply say his wife chose to work outside the home? To claim otherwise is to presume we are naïve. Or worse, to pretend he and his wife were not smart enough or disciplined enough to live within a budget in line with their income. Or even worse, if you're a Leftist, that their material needs dominated other needs.
The latest directive on Mrs. Romney came in the form of an essay about the Mormon faith—I predicted that sort of thing as well.
Funny thing is the Left has never made much of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s faith—that Democrat and his wife are Mormons.
Maybe we should have a first ever First Lady debate between Mrs. Obama and potential First Lady Mrs. Romney? The women would certainly hash this thing out more capably than the men have done so far.
We could begin by asking why you would characterize a mother choosing to work at home as one who “stays at home” with the kids.
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/April 17, 2012)
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