A Pig in a Poke

You know, I don't think Barack Obama meant to call Sarah Palin a pig.

But it's far from certain that he didn't mean to get in a snide shot...

By the time he arrived for an evening stop in the southwestern tip of Virginia, Mr. Obama’s sales pitch contained nearly as many references to Senator McCain as to himself, suggesting how the McCain campaign has been driving the recent dialogue of the presidential race.

“John McCain says he’s about change, too — except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics,” Mr. Obama told his supporters here. “That’s just calling the same thing something different.”

With a laugh, he added: “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.”

Andrew Sullivan, who may well have misplaced his mind during the last month blogging about whether McCain's cross-in-the-dirt tale was true and whether Trig Palin is really Sarah's son, says this...

We are being asked to believe that he called Sarah Palin a pig. If the people making that accusation have half a brain they know it's not true. This is not a question of interpretation. It is a fact. So we now find out again that John McCain is prepared to tell an absolute lie - in public, verifiable, uncontestable.

He does not have the minimal public integrity to be president of the United States.

Game this all you want; distort it all you want; bamboozle the morons at cable news all you want; win however many news cycles you want.

This claim is absurd on its face, like the Palin nomination to begin with. Absurd. And you can now tell who on the right has even a scintilla of intellectual honesty. That's all this episode is about: another tail-spin in the death throes of the Republican party.

My only advice to Obama: stay calm; stay cool; focus on the issues; behave like the president you want to be. They are trying to get into your head. But you are so much smarter and more decent than they are. Patience. And steel.

This is pompous self-serving malarkey, and it's a sign of why Sullivan has gone from being a respected voice to a shill for Obama who's just slightly behind Obama Girl in his serious analysis of the Presidential race. Keep in mind that Sullivan spent last week trying to sell Sarah Palin as the modern-day Alan Eagleton, but no one bought that crap.

I'm sure Obama has spent his time focused on important issues. For example, Obama spent a few days on the campaign trail flogging McCain for not knowing how many houses he owns. Obama supporter and New York Governor David Patterson threw out the claim that references by Republicans to Obama's "community-organizing" are actually coded references to Obama's race. And let's remember that Obama's campaign is now calling in the cavalry of Democratic 527s to attack McCain and Palin -- because we all know that those attacks will be focused on issues.

As to whether Obama meant to call Palin a pig -- he tried to be too clever by half. You don't make the reference to lipstick on a pig, then make the reference to an old fish in a piece of paper, and not believe that some people (including people in that audience) might conceivably think that you're referring to your opponents -- a woman and a 72 year-old man. People say that Obama's not stupid enough to call Palin a pig. He should also not be stupid enough to make a statement that can be this easily misinterpreted, particularly when juxtaposed with the other one. Jim Geraghty makes a fantastic point...

For example, during the primary, he said, “You know, over the last several weeks since [Hillary] fell behind, she’s resorted to what’s called ‘kitchen sink’ strategies. . . . She’s got the kitchen sink flying, and the china flying, and the, you know, the buffet is coming at me.” It's simply coincidental that he's never accused a male opponent of throwing china at him.

When he said, after a particularly tough exchange with Hillary, told a crowd, “You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out.” It's an apt and completely non-sexist metaphor... if he had he been running against Wolverine from the X-Men.

When he said, "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she’s feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal." Sure, to the untrained ear, "periodically" and "feeling down" sure do sound like references to the menstrual cycle and PMS, and yes, he's never used that line to describe a male opponent. But I'm sure "moodiness" is close enough the "temper" issue that Democrats have thrown at McCain.

Instapundit has a great set of links and comments on what people around the blogosphere thought about it. Me? I think the great orator showed why he's best with a teleprompter. If W. had made a statement like this, he'd be getting flogged unmercifully. and if any conservative had the track record of comments Obama made above, he'd be getting ripped as a misogynist.

And as to calling out McCain's integrity -- this is politics. Obama was right to capitalize on McCain's gaffe about the houses. When your opponent says something stupid, putting him on the defensive is how you win elections. I'm sure we're all supposed to spend our time focused on the issues, but Obama's core appeal for months was merely promoting himself as Mr. Change, the Senator from Hope. You'd have a better chance of selling the idea that Joe Biden is introverted than convincing me that Obama's run an issues-based candidacy. Minimal public integrity -- these are politicians.

I think McCain should not discuss the pig comment anymore -- just enjoy watching Obama waste a day or more playing defense and trying to explain away the comment (thereby giving it more life). If they say anything, Palin should apply the snarky knife she used last week. I suggest the following: "Apparently, Senator Obama thinks people on our side put lipstick on pigs. Maybe he's confused about what Fred Thompson said about me knowing how to field-dress a moose. Perhaps one of us should explain what that means." Or try this one: "Most people I know simply eat pork and don't spend time dressing it up with cosmetics. Maybe the Senator's confused, since he's busy trying to find a way to dress up all the earmark pork barrel spending he's sought in his short time in Congress."

One last point about Sullivan. He ends with "[p]atience. And steel." What is this, a Dan Rather news broadcast?