Hilary Rosen's 'never worked a day in her life' gaffe

The observation by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen that Ann Romney "has never worked a day in her life" detonated a controversy that briefly dominated the 2012 presidential campaign and forced both campaigns to navigate the reliably treacherous terrain of how American political discourse values — or fails to value — the labor of stay-at-home mothers.

Rosen's point, in context, was about economic policy expertise: that Mitt Romney's references to his wife as his source of information about what women were concerned about regarding the economy was inadequate, given that Ann Romney had not navigated the workforce, childcare, and economic pressures that most American women face. It was a substantive if clumsily expressed point about experience and empathy.

What it was heard as, particularly by mothers who had made the choice to work at home raising children, was a dismissal of that work as not real work. The backlash was immediate and bipartisan — the Obama campaign distanced itself from Rosen within hours, with Obama himself saying he believed raising children was "the hardest job there is."

Ann Romney, who had raised five sons and had also dealt with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer, was not someone whose life choices were easily dismissible. Her response — "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work" — was effective precisely because it was direct and personal.

The episode was a reminder that conversations about women's choices in the workplace and at home remain politically volatile, and that careless framing of legitimate points about policy and privilege can overwhelm the point being made entirely.