Are Obama's comment sexist?
The National Organization for Women's president, Terry O'Neill, slammed President Obama for what she termed "sexist" comments against Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
First, Obama's comments, made in context of discussing with Yahoo his trade agreement and Warren's opposition to it: "The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that."
Obama also said Warren was "absolutely wrong" on her view of the proposed trade agreements.
O'Neill said the "clear subtext is that the little lady just doesn't know what she's talking about. I think it was disrespectful," the Hill reported.
O'Neill also said it seemed as if "the president was trying to build up his own trustworthiness on this issue by convincing us that Senator Warren's concerns are not to be taken seriously. But he did it in a sexist way."
The NOW president wasn't the only way to see it that way.
Sen. Sherrod Brown took umbrage at Obama's remarks, calling them disrespectful, and said the president ought not to have referred to Warren by her first name.
"I think the president was disrespectful to her by the way he did that," Politico reported. "I think that the president has made this more personal than he needed to. I know he disagrees. When he said that a number of us – not just Sen. Warren – but don't know what we're talking about, we're fighting the last war, a number of those phrases he used, I assume he wished he hadn't said them because he shouldn't have said them."
Brown also said he wasn't "going to get into more details [but] I think referring to her as first name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps? I've said enough."
The National Organization for Women's president, Terry O'Neill, slammed President Obama for what she termed "sexist" comments against Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
First, Obama's comments, made in context of discussing with Yahoo his trade agreement and Warren's opposition to it: "The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that."
Obama also said Warren was "absolutely wrong" on her view of the proposed trade agreements.
O'Neill also said it seemed as if "the president was trying to build up his own trustworthiness on this issue by convincing us that Senator Warren's concerns are not to be taken seriously. But he did it in a sexist way."
The NOW president wasn't the only way to see it that way.
Sen. Sherrod Brown took umbrage at Obama's remarks, calling them disrespectful, and said the president ought not to have referred to Warren by her first name.
"I think the president was disrespectful to her by the way he did that," Politico reported. "I think that the president has made this more personal than he needed to. I know he disagrees. When he said that a number of us – not just Sen. Warren – but don't know what we're talking about, we're fighting the last war, a number of those phrases he used, I assume he wished he hadn't said them because he shouldn't have said them."
Brown also said he wasn't "going to get into more details [but] I think referring to her as first name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps? I've said enough."
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