It was a stupid thing to say in light of Palin's hockey mom joke. Moreover, it was inexpertly delivered. The most painful part of listening to that clip is waiting for Obama to get to a point - how many sentences does he start before he finishes one?
However, though there is little doubt how the crowd took it, I doubt Obama was calling Palin a pig. Here's the thing, though - I don't really care if he was.
The McCain campaign blew it.
They blew it in 'demanding' an apology.
They blew it by producing a commercial highlighting it.
They are whining like the Dem's and I don't like it. I want my candidates to grow a pair, brush it off and just get on with the campaign. I want "Reagan in a skirt" to do what Reagan would do and deflect Obama's clumsy comment with humor and a wink.
Those of us who are fans of hers were won over by her backbone and her wit. I want that back.
BTW: Stuff like this does still crack me up.
UPDATE: I agree with Rachel, though, that Obama blew it, also. He should have just said - "oh my goodness, I certainly never meant to imply anything" But, being an arrogant doof, he couldn't bring himself to do anything but dig himself in deeper.
UPDATE 2: Kind of hard to bill yourself as an agent of change when you have trouble coming up with original thoughts.
Posted by Vox at September 10, 2008 09:09 AM | Sarah Palin , politicsBeen thinkin' that all morning, Vox - thanks for saying it out loud.
Posted by: John McJunkin at September 10, 2008 12:20 PMLike you, I didn't take it that Obama was calling her or him a pig. It's an old saying but I remember it being "perfume on a pig" but that's just semantics. What is funny to me is that like the night/day before someone else on Fox news said the whole "lipstick on a pig" before Obama. So I'm guessing he stole the comment from that guy. He can't even think of his own jabs.
I didn't even know McCain/Palin demanded an apology or made an ad on it. WTF? I agree with you Vox. They should have laughed it off. It shows their immaturity to be butt hurt about something so trivial and there are more important things to discuss. They need to learn to pick and choose their battles. Cripes we still have over a month and half to go of this stuff.
Posted by: Lori at September 10, 2008 02:11 PMIf I may respectfully disagree...
If you watch the video and read some of the initial reports, it is very clear that the crowd took it in context of Palin. The fact that Obama might have used the line before Palin was picked, heck I use it quite often, is not really relevant because the meaning of that term had changed with her selection. I guess you can argue that in terms of syntax it seems that Palin is the lipstick meant to gussy up the McCain pig but we're splitting hairs at this point
Two separate issues here:
First Obama threw red meat to the crowd. He either made the slur deliberately which makes him look like a bully or was ignorant of the context which makes him a doofus. Imagine if the positions were reversed and a male Republican head of ticket would have made the comment.
Second, what do you do about it? I'm a big believer in the underplay and not letting yourself getting in the way of your opponent self-destructing. In both tactics, Palin is the perfect person to bring it off- today during that huge rally in Virginia she could have made an off hand joke about it or had the crowd wait before she began, gotten out some lipstick, and said she had to gussy up the pig or something to that effect. Then that's it....
Think about how that would play:
1) Great visual and it would have great coverage if only viral but it would be short enough that a network could run clips of Obama's gaffe and Palin's response right after each other. It would have extended this int he news cycle for a few more days
2) It would show the proper emotional response which is humor and ridicule - which is the best line attack against Obama. McCain and Palin wouldn't lead the attack which cuts off the whininess but by using the media you would score just as effective attack. It makes Palin look like the master politician and Obama the fool
3) It provides protection against the inevitable gaffe down the road. The media is waiting for a Palin slip and if she makes the same sort of gaffe that Obama did, there will be a firestorm. However McCain-Palin could set the pace here and show how you handle an attack, with humor and poise, which I doubt Obama-Biden would so. Compare and contrast
Posted by: Anonymous Mike at September 10, 2008 03:16 PMNot sure where you are disagreeing, Anonymous Mike. My point was simply that it was stupid and didn't really matter, McCain's camp responded to it poorly.
I like your ideas of how they should have dealt with it - that is what I was saying, humor, humor, humor. That is one of the GOPs strong suits.
Rachel gives a version of your "He either made the slur deliberately which makes him look like a bully or was ignorant of the context which makes him a doofus."
Posted by: Vox at September 10, 2008 03:29 PMActually I was disagreeing with Lori on my first point... on her birthday as well!
Posted by: Anonymous Mike at September 10, 2008 05:21 PMhttp://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=126554
Posted by: Samuel Skinner at September 12, 2008 12:26 AMI didn't read all the comments on the board, SS, but I will say I am glad the ad is gone.
It was a misstep.
Posted by: Vox at September 12, 2008 12:39 AM