I happened to be watching CNN last week when pundit Hillary Rosen made her major gaff, saying something to the effect that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life.  It was an unfortunate remark, and as she said it, I said to myself “oh, no.”  I knew she was going to be in trouble, and wow, was she. I had no idea it would balloon into the media drama that it did.

What ensued was a quick distancing on the part of the Obama people. Hillary who?  We don’t know her, she is hired by you, CNN.  With friends like her, who needs enemies? In fact, it was rumored that Ann Romney called Hillary Rosen’s statement a “gift.”  Perhaps, but I think it was a small one. And a regifted one, at that. The issue of working women and stay-at-home women is such an old issue. Like contraception: haven’t we been there?!

I wrote about one of the first such “mommy wars,” recently in my new column for Forbes.com. It was 1992, and it followed a remark by Hillary Clinton about baking cookies and staying home.  Today on Huffingtonpost.com, Rosanne Barr suggests, as I do in my piece, that we not get distracted by this sort trumped up issue.  We should remember what these issues mean, but not drag them out every few years and spin our wheels all over again. We need to move on to new frenzies!