Comments on: Lipstick On Pigs, Politicial Rhetoric, And Overreactions

By: Reba

Reba — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:51:55 +0000

Ridiculous. As an Arizonan for 20 years, I have never seen McCain run any campaign with the kind of press-ducking, issue-skirting, mock outrage he has exhibited in this general election. Before McCain’s hard loss to Bush in the 2000 primaries, McCain would have been the first to laugh off this semantic non-issue. “Jumped the shark” is the perfect phrase for the campaign, even though I have had quite enough of the animal references (see pitbulls, pigs, barracudas, sharks, moose, polar bears, etc.)

By: ExiledIndependent

ExiledIndependent — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:10:59 +0000

/agree on this one. And the fact that they had a commercial ready in what, 9 hours, seems to indicate that the McCain camp has lost its focus a bit. Both campaigns have effectively cancelled out the experience vs. fresh blood arguments–time to talk about the issues.

By: Alan Stewart Carl

Alan Stewart Carl — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:01:25 +0000

I’m glad that after the Obama and Clinton campaigns over-reacted to every perceived slight in the primaries, McCain is now jumping on board and doing the same in the general election. If it was a shot at Palin, it was an oblique one. The phrase is a very common idiom. The whining is annoying.

By: yarrrr

yarrrr — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:09:19 +0000

The “old fish” line gave it away that it was preplanned… but McCai overreacted…

Race Man: How Barack Obama played the race card and blamed Hillary Clinton.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=aa0cd21b-0ff2-4329-88a1-69c6c268b304

By: markg8

markg8 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:46:43 +0000

McCain has proposed to bankrupt the country even faster than Bush with bigger tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% and more tax breaks for fossil fuel industries. Think any of that will trickle down to the rest of us? He’ll give you a tax “credit” less than half what it takes to go out and buy health insurance for your family but you’re on your own after that. He thinks we can throw the Russians out of the G8 when in fact the Russians would have to vote themselves out. Even the Bush Administration thinks that’s nutty. Everyone from the Iraqi government to the Bush Administration has adopted Obama’s timetable for getting out of Iraq but McCain still wants to stay for four, a hundred or a thousand years, or whatever it is this week.

Pigs will fly before any of that works.

By: Miko from Texas

Miko from Texas — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:03:31 +0000

I wanted to point out that Palin looks just like Peggy Hill, just an observation Peggy 1 Palin 1 Peggy 2 Palin 2

By: Agnostick

Agnostick — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:53:31 +0000

Eric Dondero: “Sarah Palin is the Nationâ€™s most prominent libertarian Republican.”

Are you kidding me??

More prominent and more libertarian than Ron Paul??

If you believe that, I have some nice oceanfront property in Nebraska I could see you…

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
http://www.independentvoting.org

By: MarkinKC

MarkinKC — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:42:04 +0000

Obama’s response today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zAbeu3v3Wc

By: mike mcEachran

mike mcEachran — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:48:17 +0000

Oh yeah – and the reason those Republicans think that McCain is over-reacting is becuase they know the game, and they see the trap.

By: mike mcEachran

mike mcEachran — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:46:06 +0000

@Ed – Exactly. Obama’s comment was certainly calculated to draw attention back to the Obama campaign, and at the same time allowed the “lipstick is really on a pig (not so much a bulldog)” imagery lingering the in the air. Obama has cover, becuase McCain used the same imagery to attack Clinton. Looks like McCain took the bait. We’ll see who ends up with a net gain, but I don’t think Obama, Inc., wants to win this one, they just wanted to get McCain to respond, thereby grabbing back the spotlight. Make no mistake – these “gaffes” are calculated.

By: Ed in NJ

Ed in NJ — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:19:58 +0000

McCain’s campaign really stepped in it with this one.

Now every talking head is focusing on Obama’s ridiculing McCain’s attempt to co-opt the change message after supporting Bush for 8 years. You can’t buy advertising like that.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:22:43 +0000

You know, after watching the bloviators on the morning shows, I think that this issue is pretty much a wash.

For every person who is righteously indignant about this perceived slight, there are just as many who are incredulous that the McCain campaign would stoop to this level of idiocy.

Add to that, the fact that tomorrow is Sept. 11th, and McCain and Obama are supposed to be in NY together.

By Friday, nobody will even remember anything about pigs or lipstick.

By: Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:16:33 +0000

Eric,

I don’t quite get how giving Sarah Palin a job with no real power is a “huge victory” for libertarian Republicans, but your comment doesn’t really address the post.

Obama clearly wasn’t attacking Palin personally and the McCain campaign looks petty the longer insists that he was.

By: MarkinKC

MarkinKC — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:10:14 +0000

This isn’t remotely close. If you read the context of the speech, Obama is clearly talking about McCain’s policies being the same as Bush’s. There’s no reference to Palin at all. Hell, there’s not even a personal reference to McCain. It’s all about the policies.

This is faux outrage and a clumsy attempt to play the gender card.

But since we’re on the topic, the pig metaphor is apt in more ways than one, however. The McCain campaign has taken to wallowing in the mud. Whatever John McCain may once have been, he’s forfeited any claim to being an honorable man with the way he has run his campaign. It’s pure sleaze.

By: Eric Dondero

Eric Dondero — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:09:02 +0000

Of course Huckabee would say this. He has repeatedly expressed his disdain for the libertarian wing of the GOP. Nobody in the Republican Party has been more outfront anti-libertarian than the former Governor of Arkansas.

Sarah Palin is the Nation’s most prominent libertarian Republican. If she wins the VP slot that means a huge victory for the libertarian wing over the populist big government conservatives like the Huckster.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:42:38 +0000

For a former POW, McCain sure is sensitive. Every report I’ve heard on this faux outrage of the day seems to be either mocking him for overreaching, or suggesting how hypocritical he is for using the phrase himself vs. Hillary and then playing the gender card.

By: Stuperb

Stuperb — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:26:35 +0000

Much ado about nothing. I’ll agree that Biden’s comments yesterday about stem cell research were idiotic, but this one? Nah.

I don’t think Obama is paying enough attention to Palin’s rhetoric (nor should he) to get in a dig like that.

Just ambush politics as usual. Nothing to see here.