McCain Plays Gender Card in Pig Ploy

LEBANON, Virginia -- Sen. John McCain played the gender card on Tuesday night, seizing on a hackneyed statement by Sen. Barack Obama to claim, rather implausibly, that the Democratic nominee was calling Gov. Sarah Palin a pig.

To even entertain McCain's far-fetched attack, one would have to think Barack Obama had a political death wish. Rather than attack Palin, however, Obama has spent the past few days praising her story and personal characteristics at each stop here at events in Virginia, Ohio and Michigan. He has confined all of his criticism to policy differences.

I was sitting at a press table in the Virginia gym as Obama rattled through two cliches to argue that the McCain/Palin ticket could not deliver change. First, Obama reached for a farm analogy: "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said. "It's still a pig." Then he said, "you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink." The pig cliche went from Politico to Drudge before Obama had left the stage. The McCain camp pounced with an emergency conference call, and the press corps unthinkingly dug into the story.

McCain surrogate Jane Swift accused Obama of talking about Palin and demanded an apology. Swift said she thought Obama was referencing Palin because she is the only candidate who wears lipstick. I guess that means no one can take offense at the fish analogy, since none of the candidates are wrapped in newspaper.

This entire non-event -- a candidate uses a common cliche in passing while answering a question about "change" -- barely merits any reporting at all. (It definitely isn't worth the lead of the AP's traveling report on what Obama did today, for example.) Don't take my word for it; even the journalist who jump-started this drama said so. Amie Parnes, who I've been sitting next to on Obama's plane, added this addendum to her short lipstick post:

The McCain campaign is now saying Obama called Palin a pig, which he didn't. They also note that "lipstick is a fairly common idiom he often uses," as in a recent Washington Post interview. McCain has also used the phrase...(emphasis added)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder also swiftly debunked McCain's ploy. But the distraction is already upending the news cycle -- and I haven't even seen a television yet, (since we're en route to the airport). This is the kind of blatantly false charge that works even when reported skeptically, because it shouldn't be reported at all.

Campaign journalists don't need to cover two sides to every lie; especially an outlandish gender card trick like this one. (For skeptical readers, I'll note that I filed several policy pieces about Obama today, including one from the Lebanon event; I'm wading into the pig ploy with the minor goal of providing some context from the road.)

Actual sexism still infects our culture and our politics, of course, but John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin undermine the fight for equality when they falsely and cynically stage fake offenses. McCain's decision to put a woman on his ticket was laudable and inspiring, (as I've written before), and regardless of the motives, it was good for the country. McCain's overall conduct is more significant than that single decision, however. His cynical attempt to cloak his ticket in gendered victimhood is an offense to all women and men who value equality, and any voters who still desire a campaign devoted to a truthful debate of the issues.

Original piece here.

Ari Melber is traveling with the Obama campaign for The Washington Independent, blogging from the road here and Twittering here.

Follow Ari Melber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AriMelber

Comments

[Senzasord]

Putting Sarah Palin on the ticket was neither good nor inspiring because it was Tokenism.
Sarah Palin brings no important qualifications to the table only the fact that she is female.
Tokenism is sexism in the extreme. It is dismissive, condescending, and offensive.

[mamacat]

Mr. Melber, I respectfully disagree with the argument that McCain picking Palin was good for the country.

It would be good for the country, if she were even remotely qualified to be President of the United States, or if the USA were a very small town.

[SeanGardner]

As I noted yesterday, and many days before that, John McCain is under-estimating Obama.

McCain used the "lipstick on a pig" comment this year to describe Hillary Clinton's health care plan. And, he used it at least six times last year. All of this is on tape.

So Obama cleverly describes the Bush-McCain-Palin policies as "lipstick on a pig", then the McCain camp calls his wording a slap at Sarah Palin, then today the press unearths video of the 6 instances McCain has used the terminology "lipstick on a pig", then the campaign narrative shifts dramatically to "Here's proof that John McCain has said some vile, sexist things about women in the past" or "Here's proof that Sarah Palin is hiding behind a failed record that is not pro-working woman of pro-working family", etc.

Obama, David Axelrod and David Plouffe are brilliant because they knew McBush, I mean McCain, would take the bait, and he did.

[bevander1]

Shame on all of you! It's a good thing John McCain doesn't know how to use a computer or he might see all the nasty things you have to say about him.:-)

[Anthony712]

The media held Hillary Clinton to the standard that she had to be "ready on day 1". How come it is acceptable then that Sarah Palin gets to be schooled by Bush-McCain advisors before she talks to the media?

Why does Sarah Palin not talk to the media? If she is not ready for the pressure of the media then she is not ready for the pressure of being vice president. If a campaign refuses to let the media hold them accountable then THAT SHOULD BE THE FRONT PAGE STORY. If John McCain is SHIELDING Sarah Palin from the eyes of the media and thus the American people then THAT SHOULD BE THE FRONT PAGE STORY. All John McCain can do is CHANGE THE SUBJECT and REFUSE TO TALK ABOUT THE LAST 8 YEARS and why he has voted with BUSH 90% of the time. Political Mavericks and presidential candidates don't hide from the media; and, it’s a crying shame that the media took the bait and jumped all over this as if they were doing the McCain camps bidding. John McCain is taking the media for a ride straight to the presidency just the way that Bush did in 2000, and if the media lets it happen again then media in this is country are pathetic and it’s a crying shame.

[DarthVector]

Watch this, John McCain uses LIPSTICK ON A PIG against HILARY:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR8IhMMhe8w&eurl=http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/09/10/pigs/

Transcript

AUDIENCE: I noticed in your speech you avoided any comparison of your plan to HILARY CLINTON's plan. I'm curious, have you or your staff put a price tag on what you see coming out of her campaign on HILARY Care?

JOHN McCAIN: No, but there's many things that concern me about it. It's vaguely, not vaguely but eerily reminiscent of what they tried back in 1993. I THINK THEY PUT SOME LIPSTICK ON A PIG, BUT I'TS STILL A PIG.

[faithfully]

So according to McCain's logic, he was calling Hillary a pig? He can't have it both ways.

[Charley2u]

Everyone who wrote or "reported" on this smear of the day should be sequestered for the remainder of the election cycle. Since that includes me now, I will be leaving my desk and hiding in a closet until this farce has concluded.

I hope our new foreign creditor overlords will understand our preoccupation with trivia while our leaders have just NATIONALIZED THE HOUSING INDUSTRY TO GUARANTEE THEIR BONDS!

Sorry, I am going to take the blue pill now.

[tablesedge]

It's beyond rich that Jane Swift would criticize anyone. In Massachusetts she used State Police choppers to transport her from her home in Western Mass., to Boston and used aides for babysitters!

[Beranek]

Maybe Barak should have said, "You can put lipstick on a sow . . ." In that way, the right wing base would have to go to their dictionaries to understand what was "intimated".
Now, how many of the right wing base owns dictionaries? Better yet, how many can read?

[Citizenofreality]

Let's quit couching this in politically correct terms, The McCain team is lying about this incident. They no longer care what they say. I must conclude from this behavior that they have nothing to talk about but distractions. Pathetic.

[SUNRAI]

I'm waiting for the Obama campaign to put together an ad with John McStrain saying that same line regarding HRC - spinning it right back on them!

[Nova16]

Why all the fuss, politicians use this stuff all the time because they don't have the knack for hyperbole and rely on one or two trite sayings to "enhance" their comments. Would lipstick on a barracuda work?

[rmcneal103]

Equal time for outrage. The McCain campaign also opened them up to racism when the campaign had Mr. Rogers respond for them.

Was Mr. Rogers comment when he said in a statement about the "Lipstick pig" controversy racist? Mr. Rogers said in response,
“Apparently, the buck never stops with Barack Obama.”
I think you remember those southern crackers referring to male black slaves as bucks.

Mr. McCain better eat some crow or at least issue an apology don't you think?

This is no more absurd than the McCain campaign’s claim.

[demfriend]

I have known sexism and so many women have who are older as the "rights given" to us after many years of protest are still not in many peoples minds "OURS". The real sexism exists isn't an argument we know it's true but and it should be a big huge BUT, we also suffer from many who when they don't like something said will scream "sexist" to anyone who will listen. My gauge is if it can be said to a man and not be insulting then it can be said to me without the double meanings attached thank you. But this wild idea that Obama called Palin anything but a liar the give it up. She has lied and continues to lie but that not a sexist issue that is a values and moral issue. The remark Obama said about "lipstick on a pig" has been around for at least a century and probably as long as lipstick in any form has been around. Stupid of the MSM to fly it up the pole like it was something it wasn't too. I think any of the news and blogs which carried this as a lie that they as MSM were telling then they deserve to be mocked and called on for that too! Politico and Drudge are two bald faced lying web site for stirring this pot and those associated with it should be ashamed enough to call themselves on it.

[bobh]

The pig in the piece is, of course, John McCain.