First we were treated to the sublimely ironic reality that Al Gore, champion (and prize-winning) crusader against global warming, consumes more energy (and thus has a larger “carbon footprint”) than a half-dozen or more typical families combined, while the Crawford ranch of George W. Bush, evil scourge of environmentalists everywhere, is a model of energy efficiency. Now, we’ve learned that Barack Obama, famously promoting “equal wages for equal work” as a campaign promise and platform plank, is actually paying his female office staffers LESS than men:
“On average, Obama’s female staffers earn just 83 cents for every dollar his male staffers make. This figure certainly exceeds the 77-cent threshold that Obama’s campaign website condemns. However, 83 cents do not equal $1. In spite of this 17-cent gap between Obama’s rhetoric and reality, he chose to chide GOP presidential contender John McCain on this issue.” (Source: LegiStorm, a “watchdog group”).
Contrast Obama’s record with that of John McCain – who, BTW, Obama castigates as “anti-woman” and “out of touch”:
“On average, according to these data, women in John McCain’s office make $1.04 for every dollar a man makes. In fact, ceteris paribus, a typical female staffer could earn 21 cents more per dollar paid to her male counterpart — while adding $10,726 to her annual income — by leaving Barack Obama’s office and going to work for John McCain.”
Personally, I always hated it when my parents would admonish me to “Do as I say, not as I do” – shouldn’t we demand more of our leaders?