Misogyny In The White House? Nope.

Jillian Bandes | October 28, 2009 9:42 AM

I think a lot of bad things about Barack Obama. I think he's expanding government at an alarming rate. I think he's increasing the tax burden on American families to the point of criminality. I think he puts on a show in the White House at the expense of well-thought-out policy decisions.

I don't, however, believe he is a misogynist. This was the guy who had the first White House golf foursome with a woman. Valerie Jarrett is his closest personal adviser. Christina Romer is on his economic team. Sure, there are mostly men around him -- but how is that different than in any other White House administration?

Despite this, Bonnie Erbe of the Thomas Jefferson Street blog decided to attack Obama for being anti-woman.

Whether it was his treatment of Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail (as in his condescending remark that she was "likeable enough") or his clearly career-oriented mate who has been toned down and remorphed into a Stepford Wife, I just don't get the impression this man is comfortable with women. Nor do I believe he cares about them beyond needing women's votes. It's an act and a thoroughly see-through, amateur one at that.

Uh.... didn't he treat Hillary Clinton like the political foe she was? Didn't Michelle choose to play Martha Stewart in the White House? And doesn't he worship Michelle in public, taking her out on dates and holding her up as a pillar of his family, while doting on his two little girls in front of as many newspaper cameras as possible?

Selectively interpreting a few cherry-picked examples only serves to reinforce the idea that most charges of misogyny are usually ill-founded.