No matter what we as a society throw at it, domestic violence remains an intractable problem.

Impacting perhaps twenty-five percent of women in the US.

So the President is appointing a White House advisor on domestic violence.

The appointee is tasked with reaching across agencies to better coordinate governmental action.

The appointment comes as domestic violence is, despite our efforts to date, on the rise rather than a decline, presumably as a result of the stresses of the weak economy and high unemployment.

Read more in this New York Times editorial: An Advocate for Women.

Of course, not all victims of domestic violence are women…