Obama Strikes Back On Contrived Lipstick Controversy

Barack Obama addressed the controversy (widely regarded as contrived) over his "lipstick on a pig" remarks during an appearance in Norfolk, Virginia on Wednesday, accusing the McCain campaign of childish distortion and deliberate distraction from more substantive issues.

"I want to address the latest made-up controversy by the John McCain campaign," Obama said. "What their campaign has done this morning is the same game that has made people sick and tired of politics in this country. They seize on an innocent remark, throw out an outrageous ad because they know it is catnip for the media. It would be funny except for the news media decided that was the lead story yesterday. The McCain campaign would much rather have a story about phony and foolish diversion than about the future."

The counter attack -- both against the media and McCain -- was quintessential Obama, positioning himself on the high ground while bemoaning the fact that political history is littered with examples of senseless and counterproductive attacks. For some Democrats, it may not be enough. A month ago, when Obama told voters that the Republican opposition would paint him as someone too different to elect, the McCain campaign responded by accusing the Democratic nominee of playing the race card "from the bottom of the deck." It was a drowning offensive and immediately put Obama on the defensive.

While Obama spokesperson Anita Dunn accused the McCain camp of using the gender card in a statement Tuesday night, the Senator himself never went there. Rather, he stuck with the script that has gotten him this far.

"Enough," he said of the focus on the contrived lipstick controversy. "I don't care what they say about me. But I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies, phony outrage and swiftboat politics. Enough is enough. These are serious times and they call for a serious debate about where we need to take the nation. We can't take another four years that were like the last eight. Spare me the phony outrage. Spare me the phony talk about change. We have real problems in this country right now and the American people are looking to us for answers. Not distractions, not diversions not manipulations they are looking for real answers. That's the type of debate I attempt to have."

UPDATE: McCain-Palin spokesman Brian Rogers sends out the campaign response which, not surprisingly, accuses Obama of trying to have it both ways.

"Barack Obama can't campaign with schoolyard insults and then try to claim outrage at the tone of the campaign. His talk of new politics is as empty as his campaign trail promises, and his record of bucking his party and reaching across the aisle simply doesn't exist."

Comments

[Righthandman]

The Reps need to grow up? And McCain never used that in political reference! That would just be stupid! Which is exactly why barack used it. And then when he gets called out on his stupid remark he acts elitist (like always) and has rows of black people behind him laughing and clapping and going "amen amen" every couple words!

[syl1969]

Republicans have no trouble slinging it, but have a REAL problem when they get it back. Those words were used many times by McCain himself. When Obama uses it - int the SAME CONTEXT - they have a fit???? If the republicans are really that stupid as to think he would actually call Palin or any other woman a pig, then they are truly too stupid to run this country. Stop with this bullsh** and get onto the issues. JUST WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT THE ECONOMY???? HEALTH CARE??? EDUCATION??? When you have nothing to go on, you try to start trouble. THIS IS GRADE SCHOOL CRAP!! People just show their ignorance if they actually try to keep this an issue. GROW UP!!!

[iraaolcom]

Obama's statement was a reference to Palin's support of PORK BARREL SPENDING--which she lied about in her convention speech. As both a mayor and governor, she has actively lobbied for and accepted all the EARMARK CASH she could--including that for the "Bridge To Nowhere".

[danoj]

No his statement was refering to JMC and what O claimed was phony change, which you can agree with or not. However, how long has O's crack staff been taking things out of context and been running with it, and now he's crying foul. This is some Dem we can dish it but can't take it crap. I know what O was refering to but, he has been doing this for 19 months now. It's just a taste of his own medicine.

[sklfcats]

When is Barack going to stop acting like this and actually say what he proposes?
NOTHING is different as far as he is concerned, it is the same (not change) mean
campaiging so in my eyes, he is a liar.
He talks about change, but smears like everyone else. He is just like every other
campaigner.
How about talking about himself for a change and tell us how he is supposedly different.
So far, I have only seen the same old thing.
You can put lipstick on a pig? how about putting some lipstick on that same old lip service Barack?

[Phil123]

Hey Barack!.....
Sarh's comin' ta get you!....

[Yola]

Sarah is an empty skirt :-) Who is she gonna get? She won't even talk to the media - oh, yes Gibson, the one who feeds the questions. That interview will be a load of crap!

[syl1969]

I like Charlie Gibson, but I agree he will probably be way too nice to her. She IS the self-proclaimed barracuda, after all. And that is why he was hand chosen by them. Shoulda sent Cynthia McFadden - or better yet, Nancy Grace!

[kickingass08]

mccain gets booed in the city of brotherly love...even if america screws this up...and I know it will...atleast there are people out there that hate republicans as much as I do.

http://cbs3.com/video/?id=[e-mail]

[Bluejay00234]

You have another one here who hates them.

[syl1969]

DITTO

[syl1969]

Uh, Philly booed Santa Clause too, remember? At least this time it was properly directed!

[DebbieinPhx]

Does anyone think that an “Enough is Enough” rebellion would fly? I have had this thought circling in the back of my brain all day.

Obama is the master organizer, the king of the grass roots movement, but he’s right when he says this is about US, not him. I read these blogs and I listen to the disgust in people’s voices when they talk about this… the MSM is letting so much of this slide, why can’t someone do something, we cannot be seeing a repeat of the Rovian slime/attack and distract politics succeed in putting another set of GOP thugs in charge of our country again.

I get it. A whole lot of people get it, but my question is “Why can’t we do something about it?” It wouldn’t have to be elaborate… but VOLUME speaks. It speaks profoundly. If millions of people stand up and make a declaration that this will not stand, we could take back this election…before the election.

Email campaigns..phone calls? Any suggestions? We have time to blog, why can’t we take time to email, or make calls? We could fill the inboxes at every major news organization, leave thousands of voice mails… It’s virtually FREE to do.

[jingles01]

As a Repubilcan, I do not think Obama was knowingly trying to insult Governor Palin. I believe his second analogy (concerning the fish) was more to the point he was trying to make. It was a poor wording choice and I don't think he would have stated it that way had he thought about it a bit longer.

Of course, I believe Obama's entire premise was incorrect.

[Bluejay00234]

If you must judge him for his comment then you have to judge McStain for his same use of the line 4 times twice in regards in Hill-ary. And lets not forget the joke about why Hill-ary's daughter was so ugly, you do know about that correct?

[HillaryVoter]

This is classic John Kerry. The Republicans craft a very simple, inflamatory message (Kerry lied about his war wounds; Obama called Palin a pig) and then the Democrat spends two weeks giving 10,000 word rebuttals full of context and nuances. Ineffective communication. I don't know how to fix it, but someone working for the Democratic nominee should know how to rebut this stuff. Aren't there any Democrat campaign professionals who can at least be competitive with Rove, Baker, Atwater (when he was alive, not in his current state), etc.

[OneGyT]

"Widely" regarded as contrived? Name one person outside the fantasy world of HuffPo, dKos, Keith-O, etc. that believes he was not referring to Sarah.

Similar to how you guys still think he wasn't playing the race card (even though even he admitted it) when he said he "doesn't look like those other presidents on the dollar bills". How much more obvious could he be? You folks never cease to amaze me.

[nellie]

I hope he did mean it. But he didn't.

And if he did, he got it wrong. Palin isn't the p.ig. She's the lipstick. She's the pathetic attempt to cover up the foul campaign of a p.ig with a pretty color.

[OneGyT]

Color me shocked that you think he didn't mean it that way.

[abby4ever]

I can name four, they are friends of mine, three are American and one is British. That's just of the ones I know personally. I'd say there are millions all over the world who, like them, don't visit Kos or Huffington or listen to Olberman, who know he wasn't referring to her.

You might be one of those people who think that everything anybody says is about either yourself or someone you like and support. I hope not because that kind of thing is evidence of an inflated ego and self-centeredness.

[DebbieinPhx]

So when John McCain used this same phrase FOUR times in this very same campaign...once in reference to Hillary Clinton's Universal Healthcare plan...that was, what???????

[Bluejay00234]

He used it twice in regards to Hills.

[ponderonit101]

I don't believe he was referring to Sarah, but maybe he should have been. She is a phony, and so is John McCain. Actually, Obama should move on since he did blast them for being outrageously insincere in his speech this morning. Maybe Obama should quote John McCain's comment about Mitt Romney, "If you wrestle in the mud with pigs you both get dirty, but the pigs like it."

[AAandMad]

What really gets me about you slaves is your weak minds it is amazing to me how your masters let you out every 4 years to do their bidding then put you back in your cages.I must admit i kinda feel sorry for you the way you live your lives it must hurt being you .You never check facts and repeat things that have already been proven un-true yet you just keep on saying it as though somehow you can make it so.You see the thing about Dems is we are not close minded we really do care about our country and ALL of the people in it yes even you .I hope big O wins so you may get the education you need to become a free thinker and not the poor slave you are now .

[Krikkit]

I will never understand how it is that Republicans can use tactics like this, and how the media can spread them far and wide, without crawling inside themselves and disappearing frome the shame of it. Do they have no shame at all? Are they just empty evil suits? Are they human at all? I wonder...

[newpotusplease]

OPEN MEMO TO OBAMA SURROGATES:
Get some sleep tonight, dream about what it is that you really believe about this campaign. Try to find a way to express what you believe in short ,to the point sentences. Make it real to voters,

and Kiki McClean get your roots done before you appear on Larry King again.

[one4REALchange]

The same could be said of the McCain campaign, trying to have it both ways. Palin dishes it out but can't take it. The Republicans say she's a HOT VP, then cry sexism at comments about her.

I understand why McCain would want to seize this slogan; its innovative, inspiring, forward thinking, and it works. This is what Obama's campaign is all about. Real change, not just rhetoric. I believe that the enthusiasm for Obama is based upon the issues. People believe that he is truly an agent for change. Obama speaks sincerely for the millions who want change to happen. It isn’t false hope.

“McCain is grounding his message of political transformation in the guise of personal character and biography.” Indeed the RNC campaign is all about personalities. The maverick that John McCain was, is no more – that was history. We need to move forward, to look forward to real change.

Palin brings a new face, new enthusiasm, and to some misguided women, the appearance of change, but their rational is mainly gender focused. Their enthusiasm is for the woman, not the Presidential elect. Palin is not an agent of change; I quote a commentary referring to her as a “trojan moose hiding a potential disaster of four more years.”

Dodging the issues. Same old politicking.

[syl1969]

Even Limbaugh says "we've got the BABE on the ticket!" That's NOT SEXIST???????

[RonInNebraska]

Uh, Frog....are you aware that the word "intelligent" is spelled i-n-t-e-l-­l-i-g-e-n-­t. I guess believing in "intellegent design" excuses you from being intelligent.

[HillaryVoter]

It seems to me that it was instantly obvious to his audience (some of them at least) that he was talking about Palin because they jumped out of their seats and clapped and laughed. It's really just not that funny or applause worthy if he was talking about McCain's economic policies. Anyway, this whole thing has been a fiasco for him. Everyone doesn't agree that he was talking about Palin, but a lot of people do, and it hurts him. I personally think he was talking about Palin.

[PensiveObserver]

You are spot on. If he used the line again, watch to see if you see someone mouthing "Palin". Look, guys like Chris Matthews are just completely missing the boat when they say everybody uses that phrase. But time changes things. When Palin had her "lipstick" line in the convention speech, it instantly latched on to her. So the meaning of that phrase "Lipstick on a pig" doesn't mean exactly the same thing today as it did two weeks ago.
But we should get back to the issues. I'm dying to know how slapping a windfall profit tax on oil companies is going to encourage energy independence!!! If the McCain campaign had an ounce of sense, they would be all over this issue. You wait, he'll back off if he's challenged because while it assuages some people's anger toward oil companies, it actually hurts our quest for energy independence.

[Darkdonnie]

Salient point! They won’t like you in here.

[nomobull]

year right

[ptillen]

Doubtful, especially in view of the fact that McCain has used the same expression. It's just one of those old homespun expressions. My mother uses it, and not when referring to anyone running for public office.

[ponderonit101]

Great point! That saying is almost as old as John McCain. Hey, did it originate with him?

[nellie]

I hope he did mean it. But I doubt it.

And if he did mean it, he got it wrong. Palin isn't the p.ig. She's the lipstick. She's the pathetic attempt to cover up the foul campaign of a p.ig with a pretty color.

[syl1969]

AMEN

[abby4ever]

Sorry, but the fact that his audience thought he was talking about her doesn't mean that he was.
I imagine they HOPED he was talking about her and simply allowed that hope to cloud their perception.

[ponderonit101]

Exactly! Sometimes John McSame's audience believe they've heard something about the issues, but we all know that is merely an assumption on their part.