I’m sure he’ll try to deny it — Obama refers to Gov. Palin as “a pig”
Posted on September 9, 2008
Update: GM Roper says we should all send Obama some lipstick. Botched joke indeed.
Hugh Hewitt reports: Obama’s “Lipstick On A Pig” Smear
When Obama denies having targeted Palin, keep in mind that everyone instantly made the connection. Is Obama really that clueless? An angry outburst does less damage than his pleading he didn’t mean it that way.
Hugh is exactly right. And no, it’s not because Sarah Palin “really is a pig.” It is because everyone is familiar with Palin’s joke during her convention speech and the many, many references we have all heard associating Gov. Palin and lipstick over the last week — and so is Obama.
Update: LA Times Top of the Ticket explains better than I have: Suddenly, McCain/Obama battle over lipstick — Porky’s or Palin’s
But, to be honest, pig among men is another word for an ugly woman. And none of those past references came so close on the heels of such a widely read, widely viewed and widely heard lipstick line as Palin’s and with the two party’s national tickets set, one of them with the first female in its party’s history.
Coming in a context where everything in public dialogue is perceived as political and the lawyerly Obama always appears to measure his words so carefully, it hardly seemed an accident.
Although it might plausibly be brushed off as a willful misinterpretation by opponents, as the Obama camp attempted to do during the primary season when its candidate appeared to use his middle finger to scratch his cheek while mentioning another female opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
This after Joe Biden calls Sarah Palin and others who prefer pursuing life-saving and life-changing cures through ethically-sound ADULT stem cell research (which is actually healing people) rather than create human beings for spare parts (which has seen NO success) hypocrites. Yes, Sarah Palin is a hypocrite on ESCR because she has a Downs baby. This is getting downright sick.
CNN: Biden’s comments on special needs kids called ‘new low’
Palin, an evangelical Christian, opposes stem cell research because it involves the use of human embryos, but her running mate, GOP presidential nominee McCain, does support stem cell research.
“Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?” asked Biden, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
That would be EMBRYONIC stem cell research, Senator. He knows perfectly well that there exists a difference, but purposely leaves out the most important fact in his statement in order to belittle his opponents and avoid defending his own immoral position. I’d say Biden is dishonest, but that would be like saying fire is hot.
» Filed Under Culture of Death, Elections, Government ethics/corruption, Joe Biden, Moral Relativism, News, Obama/Biden, Propaganda, Sarah Palin, Science/pseudo-science, Video
Trackback URL
Comments
15 Responses to “I’m sure he’ll try to deny it — Obama refers to Gov. Palin as “a pig””
Affiliations
The Giants
-
Donate
Suggestions
Our Store
Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
More blogs about the ACLU
Well, here’s another round of “the new kind of politics.” Still seems like “the old kind of politics,” though.
Obama refers to McCain as an old fish, so clearly the reference to a pig was about Palin. Obama also draws up a big zero tonight on the O’reilly interview.
He said what he meant. He called Sarah Palin a Pig. Who’s the pig here? Obama has lost it. It’s gonna get better. He’s gonna end up in the looney bin or jail before this is over. He doesn’t know how to fight. I can’t wait for the debates. I’d say that’s when he’ll implode. Or sooner. I don’t think he’ll make it through the debates. Call the wambulance.. waaahhhh
Poor “billy”.
She ain’t runnin’ for president, billy.
Watch that clip again, Obama never mentions Palin but rather McCain. The lipstick on a pig comment refers to the fact that McCain is the same as Bush no matter which way you spin it. You’re inferring that Obama is talking about Palin, which makes this comment so great. It works on different levels. The Palin part is goofing on your candidate’s joke so relax a little bit.
From NBC’s Lauren Appelbaum and NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger and Adam Aigner-Treworgy
The McCain campaign is calling on Obama to apologize after he said these harmless remarks mocking Team McCain’s call for change.
“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,’” Obama said today at a town hall in Lebanon, VA.
He then added, “That’s not change. That’s just calling the same thing something different. But 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 and call it change; it’s still going to stink. After eight years, we’ve had enough of the same old thing. It’s time to bring about real change to Washington.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, Chair of the newly found Palin Truth Squad, argued on a conference call sponsored by the campaign that Obama clearly directed the comment toward Palin. “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,” Swift said. Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella later added, “Barack Obama’s comments today are offensive and disgraceful. He owes Governor Palin an apology.”
But when you read Obama’s quote above, it’s pretty clear that the “lipstick” remark wasn’t directed to Palin at all. And the Obama campaign fired back at what it called McCain’s “increasingly dishonorable campaign.”
“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,” said Obama senior adviser Anita Dunn. “This phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign John McCain has chosen to run.”
Indeed, as NBC’s Carrie Dann points out, McCain himself used this phrasing during the primary campaign. On October 11, 2007, he criticized Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan after rolling out his own plan.
“I think they put some lipstick on a pig,” he said to the Des Moines Rotary Club when asked if he could put a price tag on Hillarycare, “but it’s still a pig.”
Still, that did not stop Swift from demanding Obama apologize to Palin over the comment — and from linking this comment to others coming from the Obama campaign she calls sexist.
“As far as I know, she is the only one of four presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates who wears lipstick,” Swift said when pressured to explain why she believes the comment was directed toward Palin. “It can be a very gendered comment. So it’s both a gendered comment and there is only one woman in the race. And it’s directly analogous to a comment she had made. So it is hard to think that anybody would see this as being directed to anybody but Gov Palin.”
Indeed, as NBC’s Carrie Dann points out, McCain himself used this phrasing during the primary campaign. On October 11, 2007, he criticized Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan after rolling out his own plan.
“I think they put some lipstick on a pig,” he said to the Des Moines Rotary Club when asked if he could put a price tag on Hillarycare, “but it’s still a pig.”
Repubs get over yourselves - last week Palin used the analogy she was a pit bull with lipstick. This week the Dems say Palin is the lipstick on the pig’s (Repubs) lips. I’m a woman - I thought it was Clever, very apt and NOT sexist. Surely, none here have ever referred to their house-guests that never seem to want to leave - as day old fish? GET a GRIP folks the last 7.5 years do STINK - my family and I are just 1 of many millions of Americans facing a cold winter with heating costs at prices not seen for more than a decade, our young men and women are facing years of mental anguish from PTSD, we’re in a RECESSION, we bailing out banks, foreclosure rates at at the highest in 7 years - so no matter how you you brand this Repub change - it still STINKS!
What I heard was a masterful use of language. Obama clearly addressed McCain’s campaign message as “the pig”, knowing full well that it would be taken the other way. Obama is right on target with the expression, plus he has got the target hearing things that weren’t said. A perfect verbal punch.
who is biden?
What a load of crap. That sanctimonious, finger-waving, hypocritical, special-needs-infant-son-neglecting steaming bag of Moose crap Sarah Palin is your savior and it’s the REPUBLICANS who are calling her a pig, by drawing some ridiculous, asinine parallel between a common phrase and the fact that she’s a woman who wears - oh my God!- lipstick. How utterly pathetic for your party.
Ted,
Obama plagiarized Tom Toles in Swinegate [PROVES THAT REMARKS WERE SCRIPTED - NOT OFF THE CUFF]
Everyone is missing the point. Obama was saying that Palin is the lipstick and McCain is the pig - Palin is the newspaper and McCain is the fish. So infact he complimented Palin and insulted McCain. It is a very accurate analogy that clearly illustrates the trick republicans are trying to pull on the America people to get their pig elected. That pig being John McCain. But lipstick smears and wears off quickly. It needs to be re-applied, which is why McCain keeps Palin so close on the campaign trail. Without Palin to make McCain look good everyone will see him for what he really is. Also not enough attention is being paid to the fact that Palin is an unknown quantity who is turning out to be quite deceptive, vindictive and extreme and alot of her attraction to voters come down to her looks, compared to Obama and McCain. So even if the analogy is applied to her it is very accurate and highlights how her looks are bing used to manipulate voters. She looks good but she is a pig of a politician. The lip-stick on a pig analogy is also an accurate discription of McCains lies about being an agent of change and a maverick. All three interpretation of the lipstick/pig analogy clearly describes how the America people are being deceived by the McCain Palin ticket. A vote for Palin and McCain truly is a vote for lipstick on a pig, whichever way you look at it. After two weeks of republican hype and hoopla Obama has very accurately described the republican ticket in a way that everyone can easily understand.
It’s quite a scene, watching the Obamorons squirm over the precipitous spiral of The One’s campaign. The attempts to explain away this latest personal assault is pure comedy.
Using an NBC News source in an attempt to put the issue to rest? Do I even need to comment on how NBC has been running a shadow campaign for Obama out of its news room?
Oh, grow up. Who cares if he calls people names like a 5-year-old. Why are you listening to him anyway? Don’t we have an election to win?