Obama- rude!!

[Anonymous]

That's just low, rude and - hell, a character weakness- already know he has little experience..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080910/ap_on_el_pr/obama_lipstick_4

[jsteele]

I personally am appalled by this statement:

McCain criticized Democratic contenders for offering what he called costly universal health care proposals that require too much government regulation. While he said he had not studied Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's health-care plan, he said it was "eerily reminiscent" of the failed plan she offered as first lady in the early 1990s.

"I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," he said of her proposal.


McCain is so rude! Such character weakness!

BTW, Obama has used this very common expression many times. It is nothing new and I'm surprised that you would stoop to this level.

[Anonymous]

But Jeff, it is not a nice thing for either candidate to say. They are both rude.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:But Jeff, it is not a nice thing for either candidate to say. They are both rude.

Its not rude. Its a very common expression. Are you seriously suggesting that this statement is rude? I use this expression all the time. I've used it all my life.

[Anonymous]

Um, the pig refers to their policies, not the person. It is an expression as old as, well, lipstick. He could have said "It is merely old wine in a new bottle" -- a more ancient (and biblical reference) but most people don't understand that expression.

Considering how snarky and biting Palin and the Republicans were at their convention -- which was enough to turn off the Republicans in my family -- this doesn't even rate.

[Anonymous]

It is a known expression - but Obama used it directly after Palin referred to herself as someone with lipstick.. read this:

What's the difference between the presidential campaign before and after the national political conventions? Lipstick.


The colorful cosmetic has become a political buzzword, thanks to Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's joke in her acceptance speech that lipstick is the only thing that separates a hockey mom like her from a pit bull.[i]

So a reference on lipstick on pig is a direct hit on her. McCain also made a cheap shot-but in "real politics" - it was just another cheap shot as everyone has done- this was a direct hit.

[Anonymous]

wow... we haven't even seen any real debates yet and already there are women crying over name calling? That's part of the game! And after having said that, I don't think it was intended as an insult for Palin. Especially since McCain used the same phrase before. It's just that some people are overly self conscious and take things personally that could easily have a different explanation. Happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

Love it. The don't call it pork barrel for nothing.

[Anonymous]

I was actually at the event in Lebanon, VA today and there was nothing offensive about it at all. He was referring to policy ideas--not to an individual person with this reference. Perhaps he was making light of her joke, but it was not an attack on Palin and it came at a different point in the speech from when he spoke about Governor Pit Bull. Personal attacks are no good, but there's nothing wrong with attacking bad policy. And that's what this was.

What's not reported is that Obama repeated again today that everybody's families should be off limits--this was in refernce to a comment from teh crowd about Palin's family.

Sincerely,

DC Urban Dad (my wife is on here all the time)

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But Jeff, it is not a nice thing for either candidate to say. They are both rude.

Its not rude. Its a very common expression. Are you seriously suggesting that this statement is rude? I use this expression all the time. I've used it all my life.

Still think that they should stop with the pig thing. There are other ways to make the point. BTW, I do not like Palin AT ALL.

[Anonymous]

I love the lipstick on a pig analogy and always have. You'd have to be pretty stupid to believe that it refers to any one in particular. Jane Swift must be out of her mind to claim that it refers to Palin, just because she's the only candidate in the race wearing lipstick.

Such Silliness.

[Anonymous]

Willie Brown, whose political instincts I have always admired, was on TV this AM and he pointed out that the political reality, like it or not, is that Sarah owns the term lipstick in this race, and Barack owns community organizer. So any reference to lipstick = Palin and any reference to community organizer = Obama. He was urging the Obama campaign to get back on message, and off Palin. Interesting analysis.

I heard the quote and my impression was that he used a clever double entendre - and that the negative reaction was not what he was aiming for. I suspect he would take it back if he could. My DH, on the other hand, was livid. Politics is like navigating a field full of land mines - everyone needs to tread carefully I guess.

[Anonymous]

I am AMAZED that people really think this is about Palin. Guess when you don't have any policies to talk about, when you avoid tough media interviews and you have no experience really to stand on, you let the Bush people running the McCain campaign attack Obama for a statement that uses the word lipstick because you are a woman and you said it so it's now yours to own... It is SAD what this campaign has come to and how silly the responses are to common statements/questions because she is a woman. It's offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But Jeff, it is not a nice thing for either candidate to say. They are both rude.

It's not a nice or not nice thing to say. It's a metaphor for saying that the essence of something does not change no matter how you dress it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am AMAZED that people really think this is about Palin. Guess when you don't have any policies to talk about, when you avoid tough media interviews and you have no experience really to stand on, you let the Bush people running the McCain campaign attack Obama for a statement that uses the word lipstick because you are a woman and you said it so it's now yours to own... It is SAD what this campaign has come to and how silly the responses are to common statements/questions because she is a woman. It's offensive.

I'm a woman and I really didn't interpret the pig & lipstick comment as referring to Palin. It might be more of a touchy issue if Palin were overweight or obese by using the word "pig." It's a non-issue. It's just a word.