was set up some time ago according to the campaign, but this was her first tweet directed at hilary rosen's comments. i made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. believe me, it was hard work. the manager of the obama re-election team tweets, distancing himself and his organization from rosen. i could not disagree with hilary rosen any more strongly. her comments were strong and family should be off limits. she should apologize. at 10:58, aplease, i admire you but your husband shouldn't say you are his expert on women and the economy. josh romney, one of their five sons cuts in the act tweeting his mom is one of the smaefrt, hard-working women i know, and could have done anything with her life and chose to raise me. thursday morning hilary rosen under fire was back on cnn still not backing down from her original point. >> this isn't about ann romney or i or other women of some means can afford to make a choice to stay home and raise kids. most women in america, let's face it, don't have that choice. they have to be working moms and home moms and that's the piece that i am not hearing f

circle. >> this is interesting, because i -- i -- yesterday on cnn i kind of went off on what hilary rosen heard the entire comment -- >> i don't know if you just heard our whole segment, but it was brilliant. >> oh, it was hilarious. but she did not criticize ann romney for being a stay at home mom. and i went back on cnn this morning, and i'm not defending what the -- the word chose was -- >> they were ill chosen -- >> yes but i will completely defend the substance of what hilary rosen was saying. >> we'll cover that -- >> she was not attacking ann romney in anyway. she wasn't talking about ann romney she was talking about mitt. and the point was how out of touch mitt is. when you go to your wife about -- >> yeah, about economic realities. so me it was another story of, look, you are a little out of touch, mitt -- >> you should have gone to a woman who is in touch -- >> but mitt only said that in the first place because he was advised so because they are trying to make him seem like a human and not a robot. hilary rosen was criticizing ann romney who has never worked a day in her life be

and hilary rosen knows that, i know that. i think the important thing here is that the policies that mitt romney has desperately been trying to distract attention away from his policy of support for the blunt rubio amendment which would have allowed bosses to decide for their female employees what kinds of access who health care they could get, the fact that his campaign couldn't the other day come out in the support and say whether or not he would have signed the lily leadbetter fair pay acting into law if he were president or vetoed it in the fact that he supports tax policy that would make it much harder for women to be able to balance work and family and make ends meet. they are desperately trying to deflect attention away from that. it the fact that be mitt romney opposes the buffett rule and thinks it's okay and this would be important for women because so many women work for men who make far more than them. the buff fell rule says if you make more than $1 million, then you should pay a higher tax rate than your secreta

i could not disagree with hilary rosen anymore strongly.er comments were wrong, and families should be off limits. she should apologize! axelrod, let me go to axelrod here. also disappointed in hilary rosen's comments about ann romney. back peddle back pedal. and here is jay carney. >> first of all i haven't seen the records, i don't know that hilary rosen -- i know three personally named hilary rosen, so i'm not sure that those represent the person we're talking about necessarily. >> who? who is hilary rosen? that's awesome. i think you know which one we're talking about. and then the big boss weighs in. he is going to tell us what he thinks about it. >> i don't have a lot of patience for commentary about the spouses of political candidates. >> so don't go after the spouses. okay. now that president obama has weighed in. here comes hilary rosen. back pedal, back pedal, back pedal. i apologize to ann romney and anyone else who was defended. let's declare peace in this phony war and go back to the issues of substance. this is the real hilary

that is so much more insulting to women voters that anything hilary rosen said.here's a reason that mitt romney has lost the women's vote in every general election that he's ever run. sometimes very substantially. he was creamed by ted kennedy in 1994. and it's because when women get a look at his economic policies, because social issues weren't really an issue in those earlier races because he was still pro choice, they recoil. >> in this case, michelle bernard, i think the social issues are a factor. and my view is, this is a part and parcel of the brand of the gop at present. >> absolutely. >> a couple things i wrote notes about, the whole vaginal probe in virginia issue, the comments on contraception. he said he wants to defund planned parenthood and overturn roe versus wade. those are all matters of substance that are going to affect women. >> absolutely. the reason they are so important and he probably even more important today than they were during the 2008 election, is that they deal with issues of personal liberty that nine out of ten women absolutely ha

it's not even what hilary rosen said. i mean, she was poking at mitt romney, who says that he understands what american women are struggling with in the economy because he talks to his wife and she talks to them. i mean, it was an absurd position for him to take, showing once again that he is detached and doesn't even have an understanding of his own, he has to turn to his wife. and hilary rosen's point, while said in a very clumdsy fashion, was that she is not a good person to go to if you want to learn about the financial struggles of american women. and that's the issue here. the fact that susan says hooray, the romney campaign can exploit this and turn it into an issue, shows that there's something good there. well, that's great. but it has nothing to do with what this country really faces and the difficult future ahead. and it's a cynical politics that, you know, if susan wants to cheer that, if the romney people want to make hay out of, that all you can hope is that the american public expects something better and d

. >>> and also a slight by hilary rosen against stay-at-home moms, even still mitt romney has a real gender problem. we will get to that next. this is "hardball." hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. [ female announcer ] weak, damaged hair needs new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. active naturals wheat formulas restore strength for up to 90% less breakage in three washes. for strong, healthy hair with life, new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. >>> welcome back the "hardball." a cnn contributor with no role in president obama's campaign became a major talking point for the romney team and conservatives in general this week. hilary rosen kicked up a storm this week about her comments about ann romney and by thursday everybody from the president to the first lady to the vice president had responded and distanced themselves from her comments. stephen colbert had some fun with the faux outrage from the right. >> full disclosure, i have a personal stake in this issue, because i have a mom, my mom. which makes me half mom of my mom's side. and these remarks infuriate

. >> maybe there's a job of hilary rosen's staff. [ laughter ] >> maybe hilary needs a nanny. [ laughtera na ♪ >> i'm sure as a liberal she's apathetic and forgiving like that. >> sure. >> chantelle in jacksonville florida. welcome. >> hi, steph. my mooks. i have been a loyal listener since 2008. i think your impression of scott walker was spot on. i'm in the state of florida where our governor has basically given us a strangle hold and all of these people say romney is the best option. who else you got? >> that's it? republican 2012. >> really, you are going to go with that? it's like when i used to go on stage and people would go really are you going to wear that? >> all right. by the way, speaking of the tv, chris, i got the same number of emails you did. billions and billions of where did i get the t-shirt friday? the barack, one dog one vote? >> yeah. >> i have no idea. i'm on the road, people give me things, i don't know. >> i even did a quick google search. and i couldn't find it. >> i am on the road i'm frequently drunk, people give me gifts, i don't know. i don't even know where

they repeated the claim that hilary rosen has no ties to the white house. nbc called it's a distraction. >> well, as jay carney said, i haven't seen her in years very frequently. [laughter] >> 30 visits to the white house. >> 35 visits to the white house. >> oh, 35. >> more than some cabinet members. >> right. i mean, look, this story reminds me of -- the potential impact on the 2012 election of the 1884 presidential election when a republican clergyman said that the democratic party was the party of romannism and rebellism, and that tipped the election. it tipped the election, first democrat to win in 28 years. >> as everybody knows. >> because we were watching tv then. >> we love having jim on, because he's a font of information. the democrats are backing away from this as fast as they possibly can. will they succeed? >> an apology, a second apology, and now hilary rosen said she's not going to be on the sunday show. she'll be at home with her kids. yeah, this was a huge misstep for them, because you have barack obama 18 points ahead of mitt romney when i

i want to say a word in support of my friend, hilary rosen. about her getting in trouble for the remarks she made about ann romney which she has since apologized for. i wish she hadn't apologized because all she did was tell the truth. nobody was with saying raising kids isn't hard work. it is. nobody knows that better than hilary rosen herself who has two of her own but that's not the same as those millions of american women who have to work outside the home in addition to raising their kids just to make -- to help make ends meet. that is something that ann romney has never had to do! she never had to work or worry and you can bet she didn't raise those kids all by herself. she had plenty of hired help. so, thank you hilary for telling the truth! mitt romney can't relate to everyday americans. and neither can his wife, ann romney. hey, folks, have a great weekend! make the most of it. come back and see us on monday. have a good one. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways op

they were looking down on women at home. >> i love hilary rosen. she's a dear friend of mine.fake. ann romney's comments -- >> they made it about obama's best friend. >> she's been a good democrat and supporter of the president. she wasn't speaking for the white house. i think ann romney's comments i think underscore the fact it's political. they're jumping on this. they weren't really offended. it's a great opportunity for them to talk about something. >> can i say something? this is not some elitist show. let me tell you this. my mom had five boys. she never worked outside the home and worked her butt off. it's unimaginable what it's like. she didn't know what maid was. >> i'm sure you were very easy. >> she didn't know anybody with a maid. it was hard work. my wife, i call her the queen. at midnight before the kids were home when they went onto greatness. my paper is done, it's start to start the editing process. it's the wife. >> we've been there. not that it wasn't excellent. look. it is just true this was a huge gift for ann romney and that is why not only the romney cam

but in case with hilary rosen, you have the president speaking out against what hilary rosen said.irst lady immediately speaking out against what hilary rosen said. you have david axelrod speaking out about what she said. you have jim muhsina speaking out. you have everybody in the white house speaking out against what hilary rosen said. everybody in the dnc speaking out against what hilary rosen said. i'm wondering why should this attach to barack obama and the white house? >> well, i don't think it does necessarily. that's why you just laid out the distancing that's going on there. they don't want it to attach to the white house directly. >> so what's the issue? why is this on the front page of all the newspapers today? >> because i think it goes to what both mika and others have been saying, is that this really focuses in on the working woman, the professional woman, the decisions that women make. and it seems like, you know, this was an attack. it seems like it was an unnecessary attack on those individuals. and so that's what pushes it to the forefront. >> but you agree this s

hilary rosen has no official position in the white house or the obama campaign.why did this cause such a commotion, mark? >> it terrified democrats for the following reason -- the questio -- cushion democrats have is with women voters. and one of romney's achilles heels is his inability to generate enthusiasm with family values of voters. this gives romney a wedge to make any romney it the embodiment of the state at home mother, and it smacks, fairly or unfairly, dismissesne -- of dismissiveness towards women to make that choice. >> nina? >> mark has it right. we have all said stupid things on television, but this is in the category of "what was she thinking?" being a mother is way harder than what we're doing here. people pay nannies is not so they don't have to do that all day. -- a lot so they don't have to do that all day. ann romney is the best asset mitt romney has. >> hilary rosen it does have children of her own. colby? >> i heard the criticism before i even heard what rosen said. the airwaves were static with criticism of her. i think barbara bush said i

it revealed a a cluelessness on the part of hilary rosen. when they begin the apology with if, mark it knot down not a real one. doesn't matter if it comes from democrat contractor republican when one says i apologize if i offended someone. it's like saying i don't think i offended anybody. but if i did some hyper sensitive person i guess i'm kind of sorry they couldn't take it. had to be consoled with my phoney apology. knoll, miss rosen you did offend people. not just ann romney. but every person in this country who stayed at home to raise children whether for few years or for a life time. because you denigrated the value of what that mother was doing. let me help you out miss rosen. by staying at home and raising her 5 boys who are incredibly graishs, courteous and polite gentlemen, she instilled value that made them all taxpayers. and none of them tax tears today. she took them to ask and made the breakfast and lunches and the rest of us didn't have to pay for the transportation and meals. she nursed their wound and got them to the docto

contributor hilary rosen on this program last night. the twittersphere erupted after hilary said this about mitt romney's wife last night. >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying, well, 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. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and how do we -- and why do we worry about their future. >> ann romney herself was one of the first to respond on twitter at 10:18 p.m. she fired off what was apparently her first-ever swetw, saying, i made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. believe me, it was hard work. this morning, mrs. romney had more to say on fox news. >> my career choice was to be a mother, and i think all of us need to know that we need to respect choices that women make. other

hilary rosen -- you are right. no formal role with the campaign. she was so far off message that the next day -- >> nobody could find a basis for those statistics. there is a basis for this statistic, however. an ab c-"washington post" palm poll found a 19%- gender gap of women favoring obama over romney. he is forced farther to the right, having to re-litigating abortion and contraception. >> does this help close the gap? >> i think so. moving beyond a primary where he was contested by a cultural conservative, like rick santorum, and romney did either fill obliged to or out of conviction or terrell's respond and start to discuss these matters -- make no mistake about this -- in 2004, among married voters with children, george w. bush beat john kerry it -- only 28% of them in the electorate -- by 19%. john kerry, among other married voters without -- that is an important constituency to galvanize and turned out if you are a republican. >> let's talk about the campaign ads and rick santorum. >> miracle after merrill. -- miracle after miracle. >> wha

[laughter] hilary rosen is a big deal in democratic politics. she a big deal in washington.she was so far offessagege that the next day the president of the unitedtates had to denounce her, and only after that did she apologized. that is not a good communications team working there. >> it was a gift mark. >> it was, and ifou are mitt romney and the knock on you is that youou are stiff, you don't relate to ordinary people, the secret weapon that you know you have got is ann romney, who was not only appealing and a likable. she is a compepelling advocate. you have elevated her to the part of star status. all the white around -- way around you've made her an undeserving of victim and a champion for him. i can undersnd why the white house responded as quickly as they did. >> say what you want about mit romney, he knows numbers, he reads the polls. he kno there is a huge gap between him and barack obama with american women voters. why is that at there colby? >> because of the issues, the positions he's taken during the campaign, and that is what he will have to struggle with. >>

is this, though, a tempest in a teapot because hilary rosen does not work for the campaign, does not he fact of the matter is, hilary rose sn a prominent democrat strategist. she's visited the white house 35 times. she does work and her firm does work with the dnc. they lean upon her. and her comments really, i think, play into what the democrats have been trying to create, manufacture this war on women. we've even that coming out of the white house. we've even it coming out of the dnc where they're trying to suggest that the women are waging a war -- the republicans are waging a war on women. and they've taken it too far. this is hilary rosen's comments that have taken it too far. the fact of the matter is, it's obama's policies that are failing, americans are failing american women. it's his policies that are concerning women right now, whether it's his economic policies, his health care policies or the tremendous debt that he is leaving to our children and grandchildren. >> but with the polling has shown, clearly, is that there is an 18 or 19-point in recent polls gender gap where

. ♪ >>> in raw politics tonight, the backlash over comments made by cnn political contributor, hilary rosenis program last night. the twitter sphere erupted after hilary said this about mitt romney's wife last night. >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying, well, my wife tells me 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. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and how do we -- and why do we worry about their future. >> ann romney herself was one of the first to respond on twitter at 10:18 p.m. she fired off her first-ever tweet saying, "i made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. believe me, it was hard work." this morning, mrs. romney had more to say on fox news. >> my career choice was to be a mother, and i think all of us need to know that we need to respect choices that women make. other

>> now no one knew who hilary rosen was.secretary, i think there were three of them here. we know that one met five times with the president himself. >> sean: which hillary. >> so it's despicable but it's well traveled in democratic circles. it's not an interest group that the democratic party has historically been interested in women who work at or from the home. this also goes into the narrative not returning bill maher's money. it goes into selective moral outrage a double standard in terms of liberals have except when conservative women are attack. >> that's okay. last form of approved and authorized misogeny and you can be attacked if you are liberal woman. >> sean: give me a comparable example. sarah palin or michele bachmann? >> look what people said about nancy pelosi nancy pelosi. >> and as far as many people going after advertisers. >> i wouldn't say that is appropriate either at all. >> if you don't, if you think that you are being insulted, if you think someone is homophobic or racist. >> sean: wait for a second.

instead, it was hilary rosen versus former first lady barbara bush. >> five boys is a handful, trust me. raising george walker was not easy. i'm not criticizing hilary what's her name. i'm being corrected but whatever her name is. >> hilary rosen. >> hilary rosen chose to do it the other way, that's fine there are choices in life, i think that's great, but i also think if you stay at home and raise five great children, which i immodestly say i have done, i think it was worth the trip. >> it was also hilary rosen versus vice president joe biden as the obama campaign and the white house waste nod time distancing themselves from the comments. >> that's an outrageous assertion. look, i have fought my whole career, i'm no hero, i don't want to make it like, whether it is the women act or equal pay, my entire career as a senator and vice president is to get to point one, where my daughter is able to make whatever choice she wants and no one question it. >> finally, it was hilary rosen versus the president. >> i've watched michelle, who, you know, for most of her career had to juggle work an

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hilary rosen joins me ahead. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here. >>> in raw politics tonight, the backlash over comments made by cnn political contributor, hilary rosen on this program last night. the twitter sphere erupted after hilary said this about mitt romney's wife last night. >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying, well, my wife tells me 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. she's never really de

are and what president is going to serve them best. >> bay buchanan, what do you with make of hilary rosen'sts? >> first of all, hilary has said very clearly that she used some poor words, it was a poor way to express herself and she apologized. i accept that. there's no -- i would not question her sincerity for a moment. i do believe that she recognizes she made a mistake. and let me add, anderson, hilary is a very savvy political person. in addition, she is passionate about her issues and she's been extremely loyal to this president and the administration. i have enormous respect for all three counts. and in this business that we are in, this awful rotten business of politics, there's no reason why you can't understand that we being humans are going to make mistakes sometimes and you distance yourself from the words. you don't distance yourself from the person. hilary has been enormously loyal and committed to this president and to have them, to spend a day just trying to distance themselves, say she's not an adviser, she's not this. that is unacceptable to me. she has been too good to the