Women are riding out the recession more easily than men, with a lower unemployment rate and a higher percentage attaining high school diplomas and Bachelor and Master degrees. Yet President Obama and Congress, responding to fierce feminist lobbying, propose to expand preferences for women in both education and hiring. Whereas original feminists portrayed women as equal to men, the 21st century feminist message is that women cannot succeed without affirmative action. Not only does this harm men by reducing their opportunities, but it hurts women by invalidating any legitimate credentials gained without the benefit of gender preferences. The great irony is that women succeed in everyday America, but are doomed to failure in the distorted lens of radical feminists. A woman who chooses a job with a flexible schedule in order to have time both for her family and her career thinks of herself as successful. But to feminists, she is a failure because she has chosen a lower earnings path rather than the CEO track.