Did Ann Romney 'Work'? - NYTimes.com Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist (and the parent of two children), says that Ann Romney "has never actually worked a day in her life." Ms. Romney, who "made a choice to stay home and raise five boys" (as she wrote from her brand-new Twitter account), points out that it was "hard work." Few parents would disagree, but was it fair for Ms. Rosen to say Ms. Romney has never "worked"? Ms. Rosen (speaking on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360) followed it up with words that made it clear that she was referring to work in the paid sense: "She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing." Few of us would disagree with the premise that Mitt Romney's wife has never dealt with the kinds of economic issues many women - many people - in this country are facing, either. She's never earned a paycheck (that I'm aware of) and never faced (again, as far as I can tell) the possibility of life with no income, or headed a family based only on what she herself could earn in the workforce. But is it fair to say she's never "worked"? The comment created a firestorm (and provoked immediate distancing even from fellow Democrats) because of its hot-button nature. Women who "stay home" have long argued that what they do is indeed work, and that it contributes to the economy and should be valued as such. But ironically, that idea - that raising children is work, that it has an economic value and an economic cost - is exactly what Ms. Rosen was arguing that Mitt Romney does not understand. If mothering - parenting - has an economic value, then it should be societally supported, through programs that make it possible to do it well even without the kind of family income that the Romneys have always enjoyed. Yes, parenting is work. But the important issue can't be hidden in a linguistic controversy. It's not about which party is willing to offer lip service to the parenting endeavor, but about whether, ultimately, the raising of our children is work that we, as a nation and as voters, will support.