Ann Romney, The Corporate Wife
Ann Romney is a valuable asset for the Romney campaign. Not only is she an inspirational wife and mother and apparently a talented speaker, but she’s also a woman who effortlessly draws errors from the Democrats. Last night, Juan Williams felt lukewarm about Ann’s performance and called her a “corporate wife” because her husband has always taken care of her.
To the extent he meant that someone wealthy enough to not have to worry about the price of gas isn’t the most believable person on the plight of the middle class, Williams isn’t way out of line. But after decades of being groomed by feminists not to dismiss women’s opinions, his comment smacks of dismissing the experiences of an entire group of women based on career choice. She hasn’t had to take care of herself financially so her opinion isn’t valuable.
One might think that feminists would come to Ann Romney’s defense, but they beat Williams to the attack months ago. Remember the Ann Romney “hasn’t worked a day in her life” comment from Hilary Rosen back in April? Both comments suggest that unless a woman works for money and accolades outside the home, then she has nothing of value to say.
Not only is the notion insulting, it’s also wrong.
Both career women and housewives offer valuable perspective, but for topics outside a particular area of expertise like law or accounting, a housewife, even a rich one, might know more than the career woman does.
Countless books, blogs, essays, and coffee chats have told us that professional women max out with juggling their career and motherhood. They don’t have time for anything else. They know a lot about modern parenting and are well-informed in their professional fields, whereas housewives of Ann Romney’s vintage and style have the time and the means to be hands-on at home and examine a broad spectrum of issues. In fact, that is the defense used by affluent, educated, feminist, freelance women writers. When they face criticism that they are too out of touch with ordinary women due to their affluence and the flexibility of a freelance life, they counter that they have the perspective, opportunity, and even duty to write about women’s life issues. The grand dame of the Second Wave, Betty Friedan, was just such a housewife who wrote about all women based upon her experience in affluent suburban New England. It is quite bold for feminists to argue that affluence should discount a woman’s opinion.
But if a woman expresses unapproved ideas, then they will make an exception. For example, Caitlin Flanagan is a leftist woman with more traditional views about motherhood and marriage. She was savaged as an out-of-touch corporate wife type — see Joan Walsh’s review entitled “The happy hypocrite” for an example — when she published To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife. Since Ann Romney is a traditional wife and mother, the feminist opinion makers must explain why their own privileged perspective is valuable while Ann’s is worthless. Ann Romney provides an easier smear job than Flanagan. Her work history is in charity, and instead of writing for money, she gives speeches for her husband. That is, she doesn’t get paid.
In every other area of life, the fact that someone is paid for an opinion is a strike against credibility. In the post-feminist era, we are supposed to believe it is a mark of credibility — at least for women. This absurdity reminds me of a related twist that has often bothered me: why are those who are paid by non-profits and assorted socially acceptable organizations deemed more compassionate than heartless conservatives who often do similar work for free?
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More at PJ Lifestyle on women, feminism, and motherhood:
Juan Williams is an embarrassment to FOX News – an Obama lackey, not terribly bright, who is a dependable stooge of lefty talking points. If Roger Ailes is half as smart as they say he is, Ailes needs to reevaluate exactly what Williams is bring to the FOX programs besides the cringe factor. When Williams on the panel, I tune out. And I can’t believe I’m alone in that assessment.
Williams can single handedly ruin an otherwise fine program with his dimwitted Baghdad Bob routine.
I don’t care what the Romneys are worth. Power to them if their rich. I do care about what they’re made of as people.
Are they good parents? Are they nice folks? Are they generous with their blessings bestowed? Have they raised good kids?
Apparently, they are and they have.
Juan Williams is auditioning for a return to National People’s Broadcasting.
they’re rich.
Corporatism Explained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUKsKL6DLwk&feature=player_embedded#!
I’m just waiting for people to start extrapolating from the idea of presidency to other professions of great importance, high stakes, incredible difficulty, and high stress.
Do you ask if your surgeon can relate to you? Would you avoid a surgeon with a father wealthy enough to send her to Harvard, and maybe give her a down payment on a house? Or do your concerns focus on your surgeon’s competence in performing the task at hand?
How about your airline pilot? Lawyer? Accountant?
I doubt that either Mitt or Ann can relate to me in any direct or meaningful way, given the differences in our upbringings. But the same goes to Barack or John Kerry. And you know what? I can’t imagine caring. There are more than 300,000,000 people in this country. You can’t expect anyone to understand all of them intimately.
I care about exactly three things when looking for a president: competence, moral character, and love of this country and her people. It is by these criteria that I have my first reason to be excited about the possibilities that may arise if this country chooses wisely come November.
Cogent observation. Most specialized surgeons I’ve known have been arrogant self-centered pricks. But when it comes to a procedure that might mean my life, I’ll take a competent arrogant self-centered prick over the well-meaning but below average guy or gal every time.
And this is why Williams went for the wife angle. The too rich, or whatever, to relate angle isn’t a strong one. So he had to distinguish her a bit more–she is a woman who doesn’t need to work for money. He might have been thinking billionaire wife, but the set of wives who don’t need to work for money includes many more women who aren’t billionaires or millionaires, or even conservatives.
Wow! If a spouse is helpmate to an ambitious person in business that assistance/encouragement counts for nothing? Of course. After all the person of business didn’t build that. The business person didn’t build that, so how in this world could the spouse have value?
‘Corporate Wife’ is Juan William-speak for ‘Stepford Wife’,.
I just thought it a dog-whistle for “rich honky white beeyatch whut don’t needs no job”.
Heard it clear as can be cuz I’m a white, middle class victim and every time a black man speaks, all I hear is plantation this and plantation that.
Of course, I’m being absurd to illustrate a point. I really don’t care what he said. One can almost guarantee it was asinine. One has to realize that although commentators are in the business of disseminating information of supposedly national importance and interest, they often don’t have any experience, credibility or working brain cells. There’s a reason why they went into “journalism” in college.
Engineering and physics were too demanding on their time, let alone their recreational pot-smoking and partying. Their parents had hoped they’d become doctors, scientists, architects even and dads could never figure out why they were sending their useless kid to college to learn how to do the news. They would have been just as happy had they gotten a job that paid a wage so they could be a respectable citizen.
So we have an overabundance of otherwise unemployable news pukes who don’t know how anything works as the complexities of even the most mundane of tasks are lost on them. In the end, since they lack technical prowess or knowledge, they have degraded the news down to a thing that’s only about feelings which is something they love to talk about.
Sad as it occurred over several decades…and also because when I see Brian Williams, I think, “What a pathetic little man who doesn’t know anything at all. Average intelligence, albeit world-traveled, but still gaining nothing from all of that.” Likes to hob-nob with celebrities and powerful politicians while he, himself only yaks about the events while others around him make the events happen. Sort of lends credence to the “three kinds of people” bit. Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who have no idea what the hell is going on.
It’s no surprise that the Democratic Party is FILLED with Liberal Arts majors. Republicans, on the other hand, tend to be businessmen, or in STEM careers. Avoidance of math is, to me, a virtual red-flag – that person won’t understand why they can’t just tax people into penury, and have a successful economy.
Juan Williams is one of the most stupid journalists on TV today. He continues to bow to the elitists Democrats who use Black people for political purposes. Juan must be a product of “affirmative action”. What else can explain his success as a journalist? In addition, Juan shows resentment and frustration just like Michelle Obama. They must know deep down that they did not deserve success; that it was “built” for them by affirmative action, created by racist white elitists to ease their guilt.
“Corporate wife” = “Rich white woman”. Juan needs to go to work for MSNBC with the rest of the racists.
So Ann Romney was blessed because she was a corporate wife, in the small mind of Juan Williams. Juan, does that mean she was “blessed” when she contracted breast cancer and MS? I wish Baier would have asked him about those “blessings.”
I know I would not be running a household and my husband would not be cooking dinner if I were ill with a very serious diseaseif I had their money. Every corporation should wish for people like that….a very far cry from the Obamas.
– has always had affirmative action and tokenism to take care of him.
“Corporate” … dog-whistle for the capital-E Establishment, the Man, the oppressor of the proletariat.
“Wife” … dog-whistle for traditional culture, marriage, mom & apple pie & all those who are trying to destroy Planned Parenthood.
Feeling a bit patronizing, aren’t we, Juan?
Don’t forget to zip up your kimono before heading out on the street.
Juan Williams, the Leftist media shill who is so self-deluded he actually believes he is interested in objective political commentary. Or am I being too generous?
The value placed on any opinion by a leftist is constantly shifting. There is no consistency to their arguments. They are like logic lepers.
Juan is actually a pretty good guy. So, he had an opinion, so what? He’s entitled to his opinion, as entitled to an opinion as any of us. At least, he speaks his mind and gives us an idea of where our opponents stand. Valuable.
If this thinking is indicative of the opposition, shouldn’t we know it? Of course, we should. Williams is a very good barometer of mainstream Democratic Party thinking, and I’d rather know it from his polite and thoughtful demeanor than from the ragers’ vile exposition.
I don’t agree with him, but I respect the fact that he has the fortitude to express it, even in a hostile environment. A worthy adversary makes one better, and if your opponent is beating himself, it is foolish to stop him.
Your statements are irrational.
Nobody even hinted that he doesn’t have a right to express his opinion.
Nor does it take any fortitude for him to express his opinions.
He gets paid to do so.
Juan used to be a good guy; but I think he’s caught whatever it is that Colmes has.
I feel like Juan used to try harder to be reasonable. Maybe he’s struggling against the tide because he feels the arguments of the Left losing.
Still, I believe it’s important for people to hear the arguments of the Left so they can be dismissed when they are trash like this “corporate wife” notion is.
I think every fiscal conservative cringes with disgust every week when Beckel proclaims “Deficits don’t matter.” Again, the population needs to hear how ridiculous some of these ideas are in order to reject them soundly.
My only explanation for Juan’s descent into madness is that he is being paid by Fox to take a hopelessly leftist line in his positions. Juan wasn’t this nutty a few years ago, but now he seems to be a full-blown Obama shill.
“why are those who are paid by non-profits and assorted socially acceptable organizations…”
Which brings up another question, where do the non-profits get the money to pay them in the first place? If it were not for the evil, greedy capitalists producing goods and services for a profit, there would be no money to fund the pure hearted non-profits.
I know. I know. There is a complete disconnect on the origins of money.
Both comments suggest that unless a woman works for money and accolades outside the home, then she has nothing of value to say.
I continue to ask … what about Juan Williams wife? Does she work outside the home? What is her work history? Apparently she has children. Did she work outside the home while raising her children? Let’s find out all about Juan Williams’ wife.
For openers, Juan Williams wife is named Delise and she is black:
click to read
Let the investigations begin.
“Is your opinion worthless if you don’t get paid for it?”
Don’t be silly. Clearly the answer to this question depends on ideology. If you are on the left or a self-described moderate or independent, i.e., you refuse to be associated with the evils of conservatism, then of course your opinion is valuable.
But if you are a conservative then clearly your opinion is worthless, end of story. Juan Williams didn’t have the nerve to admit he relies on this simple liberal canon, so he instinctively finds some other excuse for dismissing Ann Romney.
cheers!
It’s just another example in the unending list of leftist hypocrisy, nothing more.
Juan Williams’s opinions are worthless,yet he gets paid for them. What a funny country we live in!
Juan admit to being the guy who wrote “Enough”, and stop trying to work your way back into some MSM gig. Since I don’t believe you’ve gotten dumber, stop playing the stereotypical liberal minstrel. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Re: Never worked a day in her life…
Anyone who believes that has a hopium pipe stapled to their lips. Raising a family is very hard work, raising 5 children and doing a quality job of it is an enormous achievement.
Click to view Juan Williams wife.
Get the Google swarm going. Investigate Juan Williams wife.
Never forget Saul Alinsky.
It looks like click this is Delise Williams LinkedIn web page Juan Williams wife
To lefties, having lots of money is not a crime. They have the same attitude as Europe’s landed aristocracy: wealth (not money) is great so long as it doesn’t smell of ‘trade.’ For example, take the Nation editorix: she has a huge trust fund enabling her to live well, very well, in New York. And then, there are the Kennedys, who by the time Shriver was managing the wealth, thought it was definitely bad manners to discuss ‘money.’ And take the very well paid NYT writers: they are wealthy, but not from ‘trade.’
The Romneys smell of ‘trade’, and according to the lefty bible, can only have somehow stolen their money. Their sweaty money.
If this attitude continues to dominate the media-university-government nexis, then America is doomed, to a class system that has dragged down every empire on Earth.