Long perceived as the ultimate symbol of social breakdown and sexual irresponsibility, the single mother is now, in the context of welfare-to-work policies, often hailed as the new spokesperson for hard work and self-sufficiency. A dozen years after Dan Quayle denounced the television character Murphy Brown for making the decision to become a single mother "just another lifestyle choice," President George W. Bush applauded single mothers for "heroic work," and positive on-screen representations of single mothers abound, from The Gilmore Girls to Sex and the City to American Idol .