Phony Outrage: Lipstick on a Pig
The McCain campaign has sparked phony sexist outrage over an otherwise innocuous remark by Barack Obama.
In Lebanon, VA, Barack Obama made the following comment:
“Let’s just list this for a second. John McCain says he’s about change, too, and so I guess his whole angle is ‘Watch out, George Bush, except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics we’re really going to shake things up in Washington!’ That’s not change … you know, you can put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It’s still going to stink after eight years.”
Iit is clear that he was making the assertion that McCain’s policies are just the Bush policies dressed up under a new title (hence, putting lipstick on a pig). Even Bill O’Reilly and Mike Huckabee have admitted as much. The McCain campaign has come out with some phony outrage, implying putting lipstick on a pig referred to Gov. Palin:
Former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift had this to say:
“It is clear to me, as I am sure it will be to fair minded Republicans, Democrats, and Independents across the country that Sen. Obama owes Gov Palin an apology.”
Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella added:
“Barack Obama’s comments today are offensive and disgraceful. He owes Governor Palin an apology.”
They seem to forget John McCain has made the comment at least twice before when referring to Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan:
Anita Dunn of the Obama campaign had the following response:
“Enough is enough. The McCain campaign’s attack tonight is a pathetic attempt to play the gender card about the use of a common analogy — the same analogy that Sen. McCain himself used about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health care plan just last year. This phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign John McCain has chosen to run.”
This article collects past uses of the phrase rather nicely.
