Recently on the campaign trail, Sarah Palin quipped that the only difference between a hockey-mom and a Pit Bull is the "lipstick". So when Barack Obama made the comment, “You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig…” it left pundits disputing if the shot was aimed at Palin.
Some believe that because John McCain (most likely) never wore lipstick, it's logical to say Obama’s cosmetically charged remark was meant to belittle Palin's hockey-mom status. The McCain campaign responded by calling his comments “sexist” and demanding an apology. Some women would certainly be offended by Obama’s mixing of “lipstick” and “pig”, especially considering the rumors circulating on the Internet that falsely accused Sarah Palin of having an extramarital affair with her husband’s past business partner, while serving as Mayor of Wasilla AK. With all those facts in from of us, we might be led to beleive, "The lipstick comment was clearly a reference to Govoner Palin" – that is, at least when the argument was presented by Nancy Pfotenhauer, a McCain Spokesperson, on MSNBC yesterday.
Though taken in context, Obama's statement proves to be much less controversial or even slightly sexist. For he never mentions Palin. His illustration was meant to describe the policies of John McCain, highlighting the maverick's audacity to call his plans "change". But when inflammatory words are mixed with charges of sexism, the result is much more palatable to the hungry media. The facts of the story are a bit blander. Speaking to an excited crowd in Lebanon, Virginia, Barack Obama fired at McCain:
[John McCain says he’s about change too…Watch out George Bush, except for economic policy, health care policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove style politics, we’re really going to shake things up in Washington…You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but 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. ]
Notice, Obama names his target “John McCain says…” He then refers to McCain’s “economic policy, health care policy…” and so on. Then why would one think this is aimed at Sarah Palin, simply because of the term “lipstick”? That’s a limp assumption at best; yet what's worse than a total lapse in simple logic, is to knowingly pluck two words out of a phrase, while disregarding the others, in order to make a connection that completely distorts the real meaning. The McCain camp would rather Barack Obama attack Sarah Palin, then point out the failed policies of John McCain.
Speaking of those policies gets to the heart of a much larger issue that‘s directly connected to the reasons why the McCain Campaign was so eager to level “sexism” charges against him - the possibility of "sexism" in politics eclipses Obama's point - that is, if you remove the appealing wrapping paper labeled "change" you'll find nothing but a rotting fish carcass!
In response, the Republican strategy is twofold. John McCain gains ground in the polls while on the attack because it drags Obama down, while shifting the focus from McCain's major policy positions. Sometimes the best defense is a relentless offense. McCain's trumped-up charges of “sexism” are simply the latest round of diversionary attacks. Before that it was that Obama was "a celebrity not ready to lead" and "just to liberal". When all the national headlines are splattered with witty references to cosmetically endowed swine there’s no room for analyzing the differences in economic policies, positions on mortgage foreclosures or rising unemployment numbers, kitchen-table-issues that are the main concerns of middle-class voters, the largest voting block.
Middle America is hurting. And put simply, Barack Obama’s policies are centered on helping that mass of people, more so than the positions of John McCain. Of course, some can argue that observation, but the facts cannot be clearer (Forbes.com): Obama’s tax-cuts for middle-income families, verses cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Obama's tax-cuts for companies that hire American workers here at home, verses open access to tax-free trade and unrestricted outsourcing, which as we can see, has resulted in depressing unemployment numbers and less American manufacturing. So it's apparent that the McCain Campaign is simply stoking the fire to fill the airwaves and create a political smokescreen.
Either that’s the case, or they truly believe when Obama said “lipstick” he really meant that that ol’ pit-bull Sarah Palin is a pig! Something tells me these folks are a little smarter than that. Plus, a stir-up that implies Barack Obama is slinging “sexist” remarks, couldn't’t hurt in getting McCain the outraged female vote. Although, I’m pretty sure that most women will see the Republican’s empty accusations for what they are, simply, lip service.
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