Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., took Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh to task Wednesday during an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.
Boxer, who is running for re-election in 2010, haughtily chided Walsh for referring to her as “ma’am” instead of “senator,” which video from C-SPAN showed.
"Do me a favor," Boxer chastised the general, "could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?' It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it . . . yes . . . thank you."
Earlier in the hearing, Walsh, commanding general for the Army's Mississippi Valley Engineer Division, respectfully answered a number of questions from male senators with responses that included “yes, sir,” a conventional term for military personnel. None of the male senators objected.
The committee met to examine the Midwest floods of 2008, and to consider ways of improving flood protection and flood response.
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