NYT's Friedman Bemoans 'False Indignation' at Rosen's Slam of Ann Romney

On Friday's CBS This Morning, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman did his best to brush aside the controversy over liberal diehard Hilary Rosen's attack on Ann Romney, claiming that the issue was "our latest example of false indignation." Friedman also defended the class warfare argument of the frequent visitor of the Obama White House: "I think everyone knows the point Hilary Rosen was trying to make."

The left-leaning columnist also claimed that the defense of Mrs. Romney was a cynical ploy for the votes of women: "When you have a close race like this, that is so close, you need every vote, particularly if you're in Romney's case – nineteen points behind on women – you're going to seize on anything...this was a chance to jump on it- you know, use it as a wedge issue, get some more votes." [audio clips available here; video below the jump]

Friedman had been brought on for his take on North Korea's recent missile launch, but since his segment immediately followed correspondent Norah O'Donnell's report on the Rosen firestorm (where the CBS journalist played up the supposed "gender canyon" between President Obama and Mitt Romney), anchor Charlie Rose led by asking about the controversy: "You watch American politics pretty closely...how do you size up what this is and what it says about the campaign and the way American politics work?"

The writer immediately launched his attack on Republicans/conservatives defense of the mother of five:

FRIEDMAN: Well, Charlie, it strikes me- this is our latest example of false indignation of- oh, my God- you know, what did, you know, Hilary Rosen say today about women? I think what you're seeing here- it's not that there was an important point- but when you have a close race like this, that is so close, you need every vote, particularly if you're in Romney's case – nineteen points behind on women – you're going to seize on anything. I think everyone knows the point Hilary Rosen was trying to make, but this was a chance to jump on it- you know, use it as a wedge issue, get some more votes. It's going to be like this, I think, every day.

Rose followed up by asking, "You see this as both an important race, but also a close race?" Friedman replied by bewailing the apparent state of the presidential contest: "It's hugely important, but it's the way it's being fought. Now, both guys are looking for 50.00001 percent to win. Nobody's going big here. This is going to be about these little issues, unfortunately."

The stagnant economy and how women are affected by it is a "little issue"? If anything, it's Rosen, Friedman, and their fellow travelers on the left who are using wedge issues, such as the alleged "war on women", and their tried and true use of class warfare and the race card.

Over a week earlier, on April 2, 2012, the New York Times columnist slammed Mitt Romney on NBC's Meet the Press by hinting that even the native peoples of New Zealand and Australia were mocking the former Massachusetts governor: "I just came back from New Zealand, okay? I mean, you have people living in the outback of Australia who look at Mitt Romney and say, 'Ha, ha. Not authentic.' I mean...it is just so obvious."

[Update: The transcript of the relevant portion of the Thomas Friedman segment, which began seven minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour of Friday's CBS This Morning, can be found at MRC.org.]