Ann Romney: "Respect women in all the choices they make" Ann Romney politely but forcefully pushed back Thursday morning on comments from Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen suggesting that as a wealthy stay-at-home-mom, Romney "never worked a day in her life." On Fox News Channel this morning, the wife of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said that staying at home and working are equally valid choices. "We have to respect women in all the choices they make," she said. Raising children, it's for me the most important thing we can do ... Mitt said to me more times then you can imagine, Ann, your job is more important than mine. Michelle Obama echoed Romney on Twitter, saying "every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected." Obama's campaign has distanced itself from Rosen's remarks. And Romney's husband chimed in too, saying "Her work raising our boys was tougher than any job I had." In case her words seemed a bit retrograde, Romney added: "Let me give a shoutout to all the dads who are at home raising kids." Mitt Romney has repeatedly said that he goes to his wife for insight into women's concerns. On CNN Thursday night, Rosen questioned what advice Ann Romney could give. "His wife has actually never worked a day in her life," she told Anderson Cooper. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing. On Thursday she clarified her own remarks, "I love stay-at-home moms," Rosen told CNN, arguing that her point was about economics, not cultural choices. Most women in America, let's face it, don't have that choice. They have to be working moms and home moms and that's the piece that I am not hearing from the Romney camp. Romney told Fox News that she has struggled, reminding viewers that she has survived both breast cancer and multiple scelerosis. "I know what its like to struggle," she said. Maybe I haven't struggled as much financially as other people have. I can tell you and promise you that I have had some struggles in my life. She also defended her husband's record on women, noting that his chief of staff and lieutenant governor in Massachusetts were women. "He has so many women in his circle," Romney said. He listens to a lot of women. But at every opportunity, Romney too turned the discussion away from her personal life and to the economy. "I've been on the campaign trail for one year and guess what women are talking about," she said. They're talking about jobs, and they're talking about the legacy of debt that we're leaving their children. Asked why her husband was lagging so far behind President Obama with female voters, Romney said it was just too early in the race to draw any conculsions. "People haven't had a chance to listen to us and hear us," she said. Having Ann Romney front-and-center, if only for a day, can only help the candidate, as she said herself: "I'm grateful for this opportunity to let women know that this is a very important election, this is a watershed election and it's important to get someone in there who understands the economy." Ann Romney fires back at claim she "never worked a day in her life" Poll: Was Hilary Rosen out of line with her comments? Romney makes bold appeal to women voters Ahead of his trial, John Edwards's isolation is symbol of his downfall