In his book, Confidence Men, Journalist Ron Suskind suggests, among other things, that the Barack Obama White House was a difficult place for women to work.
White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, in a stumbling, fumbling way, appears to point the finger for that mistreatment at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Daley was asked about the passage during a chat at the Washington Ideas Forum and he wasted little time in pointing the finger.
"How do women get along in the White House? ... How is it in the White House for women?" the questioner asks.
"Since I'm not a woman, it's hard for me to answer that," Daley said."... that was during my predecessor's era. I have not sensed any problem...we have a great relationship in the senior staff and, I think, throughout the administration. And that comes from the top down. The president, through his campaigns and through the issues he's fought for, obviously has fought and been on the edge of women's issues. So I don't see it as, um, I didn't even read the book, but I did hear that there were some issues early on under a predecessor of mine, so I can dump on him about it."
What were those issues? Who knows. We do know how he's treated a couple women in Chicago.
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Chicago Teacher's Union president Karen Lewis said Emanuel berated and cursed at her during a closed-door meeting about a proposal for longer school days.
He also used some unfriendly language to let NBC 5 reporter Mary Ann Ahern know how he felt about her. “You are wrong and a bully," Emanuel told Ahern "I care deeply for my family. I don't care about you."
