Barack Obama: Sarah Palin the Pig, John McCain the Stinky Old Fish–UPDATED
September 9, 2008 / 10:07 pm • By Dr. Melissa ClouthierInstapundit has a round-up. Here’s what Obama says (keep in mind that in the clip, the crowd laughs uproariously and clearly believes that Obama is referring to Palin):
Here’s the text:
You know, you can put lipstick on a pig,” Obama said, “but it’s still a pig.” The crowd rose and applauded, some of them no doubt thinking he may have been alluding to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s ad lib during her vice presidential nomination acceptance speech last week, “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.” “You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change,’” Obama continued, “it’s still gonna stink after eight years. “We’ve had enough of the same old thing! It’s time to bring about real change to Washington. And that’s the choice you’ve got in this election.” Obama added that “it is not going to be easy … John McCain has a compelling biography, you know Sarah Palin is an interesting story.” The crowd booed. “No, she’s new!” Obama said. “She hasn’t been on the scene, you know, she’s got five kids and my hat goes off to anybody who’s looking after five. I’ve got two and they tire Michelle and me out!”
The Obama trainwreck? Yes.
Gaffe? I’d say:
Since Palin owns the word ‘lipstick” this season due to the punchline to her oft-repeated hockey mom joke, will the ever-sensitive Dems recognize the three glaring references to:
1) Sarah Palin is the pig in lipstick
2)”Old” is a dig at McCain
3) Fish” is a derogatory slang for women (ask Andrew Sullivan)If Obama meant to imply all of that, he is unfit to be President.
If Obama did not mean to imply any of that, he is an idiot for not knowing what words are “code” words.
“Civility, hope, change and new politics”, indeed.
Readers, and conservatives generally, have been full of respect for Obama’s intelligence. His gift is rhetorical and oratory. Isn’t it?
I wrote this to a blog friend:
There seems to be something inherent in the progressive (I hate the misuse of the word liberal) mindset that there is no governor, no stop when they attack. They strangely view attacks against their policies as personal and feel that they are then liberated to go personal. But I think the underlying issue is narcissism. Ideas are an extension of the self. To dispute them is to disparage the self.
Further, I feel Obama’s personal slurs act as a confirmation that his campaign has been seeding Kos and Andrew Sullivan with false stories. Interestingly, when Obama was interviewed by Bill O’Reilly, he made the equivalence between Fox commentators and Kos kids. And he called the Kos writers “commentators”. O’Reilly jumped on that statement, but what was fascinating is that to Obama’s mind, someone criticizing his ideas falls in the same category as Kos kids slandering the Palin family, their children and them personally.
Obama is a smart guy. He said what he meant to say. That anyone is even attempting to defend him, boggles the mind. There is no defense for this kind of talk.
Oprah! Paging Oprah! Is this the kind of talk about women you support? Women=Pigs. That should get votes.
And also this: I believe that this effectively ended Obama’s chances. But it wasn’t just his words. It was the crowd’s reaction. The crowd laughed at this shameful display. Obama’s words speak to what is base and low in people. Watching the whole interchange makes one wonder, “Is this the America of hope and change?”
UPDATED:
Time for pig and fish jokes from John and Sarah. (Check out her sense of humor.)
Does anyone really expect this duo to whine and complain and be passive-aggressive? Obama has that territory all sewn up.
They might demand an apology. Meh. Poke fun. it works better.
UPDATED:
For the record, I’m not the only one making the stinky fish is John McCain inference. Smarter people than me thought so, too. The Anchoress says:
Hmmmm…considering that, I am more inclined to think the “lipstick on a pig” remark, and the “old fish” references were planned. Once is a slip. Twice? Now, that sounds calculated.
She continues:
See Allah for an update. The Obama Camp is sounding frazzled. Either they’re sincere, or they’re upset about being caught and called out for playing the very game they are denouncing.
I do find this b.s. tiring. But P.C. rules are rules. Don’t make the rest of us go through stupid ass diversity training and speak of inclusion and racist and sexist “code words” and then prattle on in this demeaning vein yourself.
Rachel Lucas has more.









18 Responses to “Barack Obama: Sarah Palin the Pig, John McCain the Stinky Old Fish–UPDATED”
September 9 2008 / 10:28 pm
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I agree with you about the word “liberal,” but can’t honestly say that “progressive” is an improvement, because that word implies that if we implement their programs we’ll be making progress.
I don’t think so.
And yes, this is definitely a blot on Obama’s record.
September 9 2008 / 10:28 pm
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For someone who is supposed to be so damned smart, he sometimes displays truly mind-boggling stupidity.
I suspect he is tone-deaf as to how this plays for most of us, and probably thinks it was a cool thing to say at the time.
September 10 2008 / 8:42 am
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This is getting hilarious. Obama and Biden clearly still have no idea how to respond to the Palin pick.
And for the record, some morons are trying to defend Obama by claiming McCain used the same analogy. I’ve got a short blurb refuting that with simple logic here:
http://demablogue.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/on-pigs-and-politics/
-demablogue
September 10 2008 / 11:20 am
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Obama stepped on his d*&% with those remarks, for sure. But I disagree with how you characterized the fish remark. And by trying to overstate the magnitude of his foolishness with your associating it with gay slang for women, you are weakening your own case. The fish remark was clearly linked to George Bush and his 8 years in office, and the “more of the same” rhetoric Obama has been trying to lay down the whole time. I’m surprised you missed that one, at least I’m hoping you simply missed it and weren’t purposefully trying to spin it. And just for the record, I don’t support Obama or the Democrats with regard to this election, but I do think any points made regarding a candidate’s asininity should be accurate.
September 10 2008 / 12:07 pm
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Phil,
Obama said:
“You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change,’”–he was either referring to John McCain or his ideas that are, after Bush, just an extension of the last eight years.
Perhaps lost in all this is the irony. More than one Republican’s career (Trent Lott, Allen’s “macaca” statement) has been torpedoed by finely parsing the language and usage of the candidate. It wasn’t the intent, it was the word.
Whether Obama meant to call Palin a pig and McCain a smelly fish (one could call that sexist too), matters because were the roles reversed, “pot calling the kettle black”, say, the punishment from the left would be swift and severe unless they’ve suddenly thickened their collective skin.
I happen to believe that Obama meant to disparage Palin with the comment (the crowd took it that way) and McCain with the next one. Maybe I’m attributing too much intelligence to Obama. Maybe it was all one big ill-advised gaffe. In which case, that’s bad news, too.
Either way, even last night after first hearing this, I thought the best way to deal was humor. Laura Ingraham had a good idea: everyone should show up at Palin rallies in pig noses. Pigs for Palin!
September 10 2008 / 12:42 pm
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Obama gave Hillary Clinton the one-fingered salute in a frat boy manner. It is how he operates.
Obama regarding Sarah Palin;
“I guess she wants to play with the boys”
Lipstick on a Pig
By Lynnie Gal – Sep 7th, 2008 at 1:31 pm EDT over at my.barackobama.com
McCain’s Selection of Palin is Lipstick on a Pig over at http://www.democrats.org
“Republicans offer more of the same. Palin is a red herring, lipstick on the Republican pig to distract Americans…”
Bob Beckel made a remark about Sarah Palin being a pig on Fox News the other day (the 7th or 8th I believe).
Beckel says, “I thought she said the difference in her speech, the difference between a socc- or a hockey mom and a Rottweiler was—or maybe it was a pig—was lipstick, right?”
Rep. Russ Carnahan also took a swipe at Palin.
“For all his tough talk [McCain] buckled to the right wing of his party in his choice. Picked someone with zero experience in national government, zero experience in foreign affairs. There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick,” he said.
Gee, I wonder who Carnahan is talking about here?
Sarah Palin;
“What’s the difference between a Hockey Mom and a Pitbull? LIPSTICK!”.
Well, are we supposed to believe that my.barackobama.com, http://www.democrats.org, Bob Beckel, Obama and Carnahan aren’t aware of the analogy Sarah Palin used?
Obama seems to really believe that demeaning women is a game winner. Maybe this sort of thing works in Chicago?
This is the smartest guy in the room?
September 10 2008 / 1:43 pm
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……“it’s still gonna stink after eight years. “We’ve had enough of the same old thing!”…
The remainder of the quote, which you chose not to include in your reply to mine, is what makes my point regarding his statement. I agree with you that he meant to call Sarah Palin a pig, and I think it’s truly hilarious that he’s been reduced to juvenile name calling. It’s pathetic, in the truest sense of the word.
And Travis, who in the hell referred to him as the smartest man in the room? A fifth grader? Or maybe someone at a Women’s Auxiliary meeting, where he was a guest and the ONLY man in the room? Come on, there are some legitimate questions that have been raised about his supposed intelligence, and hearing him speak without a script gives rise to more doubt, which for me is already substantial.
September 10 2008 / 1:57 pm
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“we’ve had enough of the same old thing“.
I guess I might be giving Obama too much credit. Considering his penchant for sly inferences (remember when he flipped off Hillary?), I think he was using a double entendre here–simultaneously disparaging Bush’s administration and McCain.
September 10 2008 / 2:16 pm
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Well Phil, I agree, but the leftists ALWAYS think they are the smartest one in the room. Just listen to them talk about ‘low information’ voters and the like. They do tend to go on about how clever Obama is, though I have yet to see much evidence of it!
September 10 2008 / 6:29 pm
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THE CHICKENS ARE COMING HOME TO ROOST …
Barack is cryin. He always thought this is mine!
I’m Michele’s husband, I’m black, and this is mine!
I just got to step up into the plate … and, then out of
nowhere, came ‘Hey, I’m Sarah Palin’ … and he said
damn, where did you come from? I’m black, I’m
entitled … there’s a white woman stealing my show
… wah … wah …
September 10 2008 / 11:24 pm
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I’m sorry, but I’ll have to vehemently disagree with you this time. I am very disappointed by those on the Right who have misinterpreted this clip as Obama calling Palin a pig. He did not, though apparently many on the Left have also interpreted it this way. He clearly was starting out with the “McCain represents more of the same” mantra, and applying the old phrase of putting lipstick on a pig to that statement, and not to Sarah Palin.
Obama has WAYYYY too many other faults to pick on to be manufacturing them like this.
September 11 2008 / 8:56 am
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If being called a Pig or a fish is so offensive, how will the pig or the fish deal with the leaders of Russia or Iran? JAT
September 11 2008 / 11:14 am
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Hey Wayne, Obama would have to be a complete dolt to not be able to anticipate that his lipstick remark would be associated with a very recent lipstick remark made by one of his opponents. His rhetoric about “more of the same old thing” would have easily stood with the other three references he included, so it seems to me that the lipstick on a pig statement was ushered out where and when it was with a specific intent. It’s no leap to associate a pitbull with lipstick to a pig with lipstick. Are you saying he’s really THAT clueless?
September 11 2008 / 2:06 pm
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“Are you saying he’s really THAT clueless?”
Yes, in fact, I am saying that. Otherwise, how could he have so many other gaffes (60 states for example) out there that he never caught when he said them?
I fully believe that he was trying to throw McCain’s use of the same line back at him, and not trying to specifically refer to Gov. Palin.
On the other hand, many on the Left also believe that he was referring to her, so it might possibly be that his speechwriter DID mean it that way. As big an ass as I think the man is, I truly don’t believe that HE made that comment with that particular insult in mind.
September 11 2008 / 2:16 pm
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Sorry, but you don’t get to “own” a word just by using it in a joke. I’ve heard the “pig in lipstick” joke many times before – it’s of long-running use on the Calculated Risk blog, for example (referring to bad mortgages or securities based on them).
September 11 2008 / 2:35 pm
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More of the same old thing?
That’s Obama. Spouting the same old tax-and-spend liberalism that’s been around forever.
Nothing “change” about that. See a problem – throw money at it. If problem is not solved, throw more money at it.
* yawn *