Mitt Romney says Joni Ernst 'didn't just sit at home needle-pointing'

Mitt Romney says Joni Ernst &#039;didn&#039;t just sit at home needle-pointing&#039;

(Image credit: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/Getty Images)

While helping rally support for Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst (you know, the woman who "grew up castrating hogs"), the Des Moines Register reports that Mitt Romney said: "She didn't just sit at home needle-pointing, as you know, she was doing some work on the farm — squealing work on the farm."

We know what the squealing reference was about. And, of course, Romney said a lot of other stuff that won't make any headlines. But some in the press seized on the needle-pointing line, and it's worth asking why.

Perhaps it was just Romney's way of saying that Ernst is a hard worker. For example, if I were to say that I went to college — and didn't just take basket weaving classes — you'd know what I meant. But it's also likely that some will hear the needle-pointing line and suspect it's really about gender norms. It was a bit reminiscent of Hillary Clinton's famous line: "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas."

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This isn't likely to cause Ernst any serious problems. But it is yet another example of Romney's penchant for saying awkward things.

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Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.