You know, I heard that 'lipstick' comment on the radio this morning on the way to work and was horrified, thinking that it seemed to be a direct (and kinda sexist) attack on Palin of the sort that Obama himself was making a big deal of keeping out of politics.
Then I read about it on CNN and, while I don't take CNN (or any new site) as gospel truth in reporting of any matters, especially political, I discovered that the 'lipstick on a pig' phrase has been around for quite a while - and, in fact, was used by both McCain and Obama in the last year. Mike Huckabee apparently said that he knows what it's like to be on a podium and use a phrase that's in reasonably common parlance, only to find later that it's being interpreted differently because of some current context. Now, I don't
know what was in Obama's mind when he said it, and I'd love to see him acknowledge that it was open to misinterpretation, but it's clearly not as straightforward as it was being reported this morning.
The
CNN story I read has been edited to add more information since I looked at it, but the Huckabee remarks are still in there, as are the examples of the phrase as used by McCain and Obama previously. It's at least possible that Obama didn't mean it as a direct dig at Palin.
Wendy
