( CNN ) -- It was a remark that launched a media firestorm . Should it have ? In the midst of praising California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday , President Barack Obama described her as `` by far the best-looking '' AG of all . By Friday , the uproar over the remark was such that the president called Harris to apologize for the `` distraction created by the comments , '' according to his spokesman , Jay Carney . CNN.com readers were sharply divided over whether such an apology was warranted . Some drew on their own personal experiences with such incidents . Commenter Lulany said that she is often `` annoyed '' at the focus on women 's appearance that she observes day to day , but that the president did not commit a foul here . `` It 's a comment you often hear from men to point out that a woman is more pleasant to the eye . I do n't see much harm in that especially coming from a man who is surrounded by strong women and clearly has the highest respect for them . '' James Pfeiffer mentioned how , one day , he was complimented on his `` beautiful hair '' by a woman in the parking lot of a golf course . `` I was speechless . But you know , it really made a 65-year-old guy feel pretty good . '' He said the `` politicization '' of such remarks would mean `` soon we 'll all be just staring dumbly at one another from the fear of saying something wrong . '' But what about incidents at the workplace ? `` Consider this : You are at work and you tell your co-worker , 'By the way , you are the best looking co-worker here , ' '' said commenter `` Me Not You . '' `` Could you be in the HR office by the end of the day ? I think so . '' Commenter `` Person of Interest '' recalled telling a female co-worker that her new haircut brought out her eyes . `` Next thing I know , I hear about how I was being inappropriate and hitting on her , '' he explained . `` When I asked her about it , she said she did n't think I was and in fact she was happy all day long that at least one man noticed it . A few weeks later , she complimented my girlfriend about how sweet I am to notice things like that . My girlfriend agreed . '' Another commenter , `` pmn , '' said that she went through a very similar experience to that of Harris , being introduced as a new employee . `` One of the male executives announced that she is definitely good-looking compared to a past employee , '' she said . `` So inappropriate . I turned completely red and felt very awkward . '' And `` jon '' commented that remarks like that are banned from his workplace . Paul Hogue , who stated that he supported the president , found the comment out of line , imagining if the scenario were slightly different . `` I do n't recall a president commenting on how rugged their vice president looks , specifically because it detracts from the reason they are hired . '' `` Really ? '' also commented by imagining that the tables had been turned somewhat . `` What would the response have been if a female politician with tremendous power had remarked that a male politician with less power was the 'best-looking so and so ' ? '' They added that ultimately , it comes down to the context and setting . `` If a comment like this is made between close friends , no big deal -- although the time and place the comment is made could be questioned since others may not know that it is a comment between friends . If a comment like this is made between people that are only meeting recently , or for the first time , in this type of forum -- not appropriate at all , regardless of political affiliation and/or position of power . ''
Commenters weighed in on Obama 's remark about California AG 's looks . Some drew on personal experience in deciding if Obama should have apologized . Some said such a remark in the workplace would have caused trouble . One says fear of misspeaking could leave people `` staring dumbly at one another ''