Telling a woman who raised five children that she “has never worked a day in her life” is a terrible idea. Don’t do it. Don’t tell any woman who has raised any number of children that she has never worked. Think of what your mother would say.

Last Thursday, Hilary Rosen, a strategist with some ties to President Barack Obama, made the comment that Ann Romney “had never worked a day in her life.”

The comment drew attention and feedback from the Twitter world including Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and the president himself, all of whom disagreed with Rosen’s statement and supported the integrity of being a stay-at-home mother.

Yes, Romney probably didn’t have to face the same issues that most stay-at-home moms do.

She most likely never had to figure out a budget to be sure there was enough food on the table. She probably didn’t have to worry about buying her children new clothes when they grew out of their old ones. She didn’t have to tell her children, “No, we can’t afford that.”

But five kids? The amount of screaming, fighting, crying, hitting and whining that woman would have put up with is almost impossible for me to imagine as a 22-year-old with no children.

The time and effort it takes to feed, clean, clothe, educate, entertain and clean up after five kids is certainly more than a full-time job. Instead of leaving “work” at the office, it is there at your bedside at 2 a.m. complaining of a stomachache or nightmares.

It’s a tough job and one that I’m not entirely certain I’m even willing to take on myself. For some reason a room full of self-centered, angry men sounds more manageable to me than multiple crying children.

But people were offended, as they so often are by the most trivial of remarks.

Instead of single moms working to feed their children voicing their concern on the rising cost of living, they angrily yell that Romney can’t understand their situation.

Instead of stay-at-home moms insisting that their children receive a quality education, they snub Rosen and her uninformed remark.

Finally, instead of the candidates making statements about what they are going to do for this country, they issue apologies for stupid things that people say.

Once again, we have been distracted from any issue that actually matters.

Rosen’s comment came at a time when women hold a very crucial slot in the elections — mainly because they don’t like Mitt Romney and he’s willing to grovel at their feet to get their vote.

It came at a time when women are feeling pushed aside over issues such as health care, birth control and abortion, and when they are forced to sit and watch as men decide the best course of action in women’s health issues.

It came at a time when we should be demanding more from our presidential candidates, their advisers — in whatever capacity — and media outlets. A time where we insist candidates use their media time to convince us they are the right man for the job instead of continuing to sling insults and then issue apologies.

Demand a real campaign instead of a marketing gimmick. Demand that your time not be wasted with mundane, irrelevant issues that do nothing more than distract from the critical ones.

People say things. People say stupid things and we need to be strong and independent enough to recognize those stupid things and move on with our lives.

Seeing as this ridiculous comment has already received far too much attention, I am going to move on — like so many others should.