• White House defends its record of women in leadership positions

    Pete Souza / White House

    President Barack Obama met with senior advisers on Dec. 29 in the Oval Office. Valerie Jarrett was the only woman among them -- her leg is just visible in front of the desk.

    By Ali Weinberg, associate producer, NBC News

     

    A photo of President Barack Obama meeting with his nearly all-male staff – a barely visible Valerie Jarrett being the exception -- to discuss fiscal cliff negotiations prompted questions at Wednesday's White House briefing about the number of high-level women in his administration.

    The issue has gained relevance recently as news unfolded that the president would appoint men to all of the highest-profile cabinet positions (State, Defense and Treasury), even as some women were in the running. The number of women senior staff shrank even further Wednesday with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announcing her resignation.

    Responding to a question from NBC’s Chuck Todd about whether the picture “embarrassed” President Obama, press secretary Jay Carney immediately listed the names of women in the administration.

    “Two of the three deputy chiefs of staff are women,” Carney said. “The White House counsel is a woman. A woman runs homeland security for this country, Secretary Napolitano.”

    He also named Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, who he described as the “cabinet secretary in charge of the most important piece of domestic policy legislation in a generation.”

    Neither Napolitano nor Sebelius would have been in the picture that spurred Wednesday’s discussion, as their departments do not deal with fiscal issues.

    “Including Valerie Jarrett, women serve in key policy roles here within the White House, as they do throughout the administration,” Carney said. He listed yet more women: Cecilia Munoz , Director of Domestic Policy, Tina Tchen, chief of staff to Michelle Obama, Nancy Hogan, White House personnel director Nancy Hogan.

    “This president is committed to diversity,” he continued. “Look at the record.”

    He continued to list more women, repeating Janet Napolitano’s name. He also named Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who had been in the running for the secretary of state position until she pulled her name following months of controversy about comments she made about the Benghazi attacks.  

    Concluding, Carney said: “This president has made two appointments to the Supreme Court, both of them women.”

  • Obama, seizing on 'binders full of women,' aims to edge out Romney

    Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images

    President Barack Obama greets supporters after speaking during a campaign event at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio on Wednesday.

    By NBC's Kristen Welker

     

     

    A day after the second presidential debate, which included a robust discussion about women's healthcare and equal pay, President Barack Obama aimed to build momentum with women voters as he campaigned in key battleground states on Wednesday.

    During a stop in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Obama seized on Mitt Romney’s widely panned “binders full of women” comment, to suggest his Republican opponent is out of touch: “I’ve got to tell you, we don’t have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women, ready to learn and teach in these fields right now,” the president told a crowd of supporters.

    During the Tuesday night debate, Romney said that while he was governor of Massachusetts, he asked women’s groups to help him find qualified female applicants for his cabinet. Those groups then brought him “binders full of women,” he said. The phrase immediately touched off a social media storm on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

    The Obama campaign hopes to capitalize on the "binders" comment and other issues related to women, believing they can erode some of the inroads Romney may have made with that voting bloc. The latest USA Today Gallup Poll showed Romney and Obama in a tie among women in battleground states. The latest NBC News/WSJ poll showed the president with a double-digit lead among women in Ohio, Florida and Virginia.

    While on the campaign trail Wednesday, Obama knocked Romney on fair pay, arguing that Romney has yet to clarify where he stands on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which makes it easier for women to sue employers for pay discrimination. The president also hammered Romney for supporting the so-called Blunt amendment, which would allow employers to deny women access to contraceptives based on religious beliefs.

    During the debate, Romney said the president misrepresents his position on women’s access to healthcare.

    “I’d just note that I don’t believe that bureaucrats in Washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not," Romney said. "I don’t believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives.”

    On Wednesday, Kerry Healey, Romney’s former lieutenant governor, appeared on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports to defend the former Massachusetts governor: “This whole discussion about contraception and binders of women is a distraction form the Obama administration’s failure on women’s issues generally.”

    When Mitchell asked Healey if employer-subsidized contraceptives are a “pocketbook issue” for women, Healey dodged the question.

    “One of the core freedoms that we have as people here in America is our religious freedom. And we cannot infringe on that," she said.

    Romney campaign advisor Kerry Healy talks about Mitt Romney's stance on women's issues and whether Tuesday's debate performance will convince women to vote for him.

    The Romney campaign has worked to portray him as moderate on women’s issues. On Wednesday, the campaign released a new ad featuring a female Obama supporter who says straight to camera: "Those ads saying Mitt Romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. So I looked into it. Turns out, Romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. In fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life."

    The ad is correct that Romney supports abortion in cases of rape and incest. But the GOP candidate has also said that he supports ending federal funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive health care services including abortions.

    Obama campaign aides say they will continue to highlight the differences between the president and his Republican challenger on women’s issues – crucial, given that in 2008, women made up 53 percent of voters.

    Slideshow: Twin sons of different parties

    From tramping through cornfields to munching ice cream cones to holding babies – the time-honored traditions of the campaign trail leave President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney looking surprisingly alike.

    Launch slideshow

     

  • Convention speech passed, Ann Romney continues to court women voters

    By NBC's Alex Moe

     

    TAMPA, FL -- Just hours after addressing the Republican National Convention herself Monday night, Ann Romney was back at it again bright and early Tuesday morning, making her pitch to a group of women voters.

    Slideshow: The 2012 Republican National Convention

    "So many of the women in this nation have got to figure out, am I going to go in that voting booth and vote for my children’s future?" Mrs. Romney asked the several hundred women at a breakfast just a few blocks from the GOP convention. "That’s what they have got to ask because this is going to be an economic question for them. We’re OK. We’re OK. The next generation is going to be paying for our debts."

    With Mitt Romney struggling with the gender gap -- President Barack Obama is leading among females 51 percent to 41 percent according to the NBC News/WSJ poll --  his wife appears to be taking on the role of helping try to reduce that.

    Charlie Neibergall / AP

    Ann Romney, wife of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012.

    Not only did Ann, who wore a light pink suit, share personal stories about her and Mitt Romney's 42-year long marriage -- their love, struggles, and family -- all five of her daughters-in-law appeared on stage with stories of their own.

    "One thing I really love about Ann is she’s a really modern feminist. She’s kind of the 21st century woman. She is so comfortable in her own skin and I promise that’s for real," Andelyne Romney, son Ben's wife, said.

    NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro recap the first night of Republican speeches from Ann Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and preview vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's speech to the crowd in Tampa.

    Making her debut on the campaign trail, Janna Ryan, wife of the vice presidential nominee-in-waiting, Rep. Paul Ryan, also gave very brief remarks inside the Hyatt Hotel.

    "I have to say it again, wasn't Ann great last night. So good," Mrs. Ryan said, giving Americans the first glimpse of America's potential next Second Lady. "Ann's story is an inspiration for millions of women across this country and her friendship is an unexpected blessing in this campaign. It is a privilege to join you and Mitt on this campaign."

    And Mitt Romney himself, via video, joined the conversation as well to talk about "his sweetheart."

    "By the time I get to town, the delegates may have decided to nominate Ann instead. And wouldn’t that be interesting?," Romney joked. "And do you think if Ann were the nominee, the press would write stories about how my job is to humanize Ann? I don’t think so."

  • Ann Romney: 'We need to respect choices that women make'

    By Michael O'Brien

     

    Ann Romney defended her husband Mitt on Thursday, praising him as someone who respects and admires women both personally and professionally.

    Amid an uproar over comments made last night by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen, who said Mrs. Romney had "never worked a day in her life," the would-be first lady pleaded for "respect."

    NBC's Mark Murray discusses women and their role in politics today following Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen's comments on Ann Romney.

    "My career choice was to be a mother. And I think we all know that we need to respect choices that women make," Ann Romney said during an interview on Fox News.

    The former first lady of Massachusetts has emerged throughout the Romney campaign as a top public advocate for her husband, both on the campaign trail and in television interviews. Her stop on Thursday morning on Fox comes amid a sustained blitz by the Obama re-election campaign and Democrats, who blame Republicans for waging a "war on women."

    That narrative has been sustained by recent polling data that shows Romney lagging behind Obama among women voters. ("It's just too early. People haven't had a chance to listen to us or hear us," Ann Romney said of the reason for the gap.)

    She echoed Mitt Romney's rhetoric that the economy is the number one issue for women, and also sought to portray her husband as somebody who's attentive to the women around him (pointing out that Romney's lieutenant governor and chief of staff were women).

    "Mitt Romney is a person that admires women and listens to them and I am grateful that he listens to me," she said.

    Ann Romney said she was bothered by the notion that her husband doesn't respect women. "You should see how many women he listens to; that's what I love about Mitt," she said.

    Mrs. Romney also sought to project empathy for women who are struggling in the harsh economic environment.

    "I know what it's like to struggle. Maybe I haven't struggled as much financially as some people have, but I can tell you: I've had struggles in my life," she said, referencing, in part, her battles against breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.