August 19, 2005

A Washington Post article seeks to position Roberts as someone who opposes equal rights for women. Walter already addressed the substance of the article, but one new detail is worth noting. Roberts wrote in a memo, "Some might question whether encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good, but I suppose that is for the judges to decide." Feminist groups are trying to portray this as a "Neanderthal idea" about women's place in society when it's just plainly obvious that Roberts is simply making a lawyer joke. To its credit, the Post does note this explanation from the White House, but there was no reason to give Kim Gandy of the National Organization for Women the platform to release a self-parodying statement unfairly attacking Roberts, much less to spin the entire article as "Roberts Resisted Women's Rights" when there isn't a single recognized women's "right" identified in the article that Roberts resisted.