... that Obama wasn't even talking about Palin.  He was saying that McCain's "change" mantra is putting lipstick on a pig or fish in new newspaper.  

Also, this is a very old expression, generally defined as "If people put lipstick on a pig, they make superficial or cosmetic changes, hoping that it will make the product attractive."  That's exactly what McCain-Palin are trying to do in rebranding themselves into "change agents" and "reformers."  They're not, no matter how much metaphorical "lipstick" they put on.

you should send this little nugget to the Daily Show or MSNBC ... or something. That's quite a find.

in a recommended diary (here), so I can't really take credit.  But yeah, it is "something" as you say. Let's see if the moron media picks up on it.

Andrea Mitchell was holding it up on Scarborough this morning.

Over the McCain campaign's phony outrage.

In truth, McCain is the pig, Palin is simply the lipstick that's been slapped on him to turn on some far-right religious extremists.

Palin is the metaphorical "lipstick" that tries to turn McCain the Bush 90% Rubber Stamp (and metaphorical "pig") into McCain the "Reformer."  

I work in a psyc hospital. We call this crap the republicons are pitching against Obama about his "lipstick on a pig" comment DELUSIONAL behavior.

And show it on the stump everyday.

This feigned outrage of the McCain campaign needs to be spotlighted.

"lets see.  Chapter one.  How to candy coat bad news" [or whatever]  See, that's what John McCain is trying to do right now.  Candy coat the fact that his policy is Bush's policy, and he hopes that you'll buy that.  Lipstick on a pig is what I call it!  It's still a pig!"

said the following on 9/8/04 (source, The Plain Dealer):

Edwards also took jabs at Vice President Dick Cheney for his remarks at the Republican National Convention that health care is more affordable and accessible.

"What America is he talking about?" Edwards said. "They will say everything they can between now and Election Day to put lipstick on this pig. But no matter how much lipstick you use, it's still a pig."

You can slap on all the paint you want but the house still needs renovations.

That we debate this plays into the repubs hands.
Obama should be saying the "lipstick" comment every chance he gets for the next few days, using it in the same context as the first time.  

The comment was accurate, was not a personal attack on anyone, and obviously hit the GOP candidates where it really hurts (because it was an accurate critism).

Obama, SAY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.!!!!!!!!!

Your statement is truthful.  The fact that Palin lies about the "brifge" doesn't keep her from repeating it over and over.

I couldn't agree more.  Obama shouldn't let the Republicans milk this lipstick-on-a-pig thing, but rather should turn the tables on them by repeating the expression time and again, making it a mantra of the campaign.    Dems should beat the Republicans on the inevitable race to produce bumper stickers and pins with allusions to lipstick on a pig.  Stick it to 'em!

Heard Barack last night in Lebanon with my high school aged daughter-what an inspiration. Great time and energy, questions on the Great Society, community organizing, energy. Rick Boucher would make a great Secretary of Energy but I'm not sure the 9th district would survive without his leadership!
Lipstick on a pig comment was good, and being blown way out of context, as the tapes will show it was clearly responding to McCain's hypocritical mantra of being a change agent.
But Obama's other comment, in response to a teacher's question about No Child Left Behind, and his speech earlier in the day in Dayton on education, was an even better pig comment. He said in downstate Illinois that you don't measure a pig's progress by weighing it everyday. In other words, you feed the mind, give it inspiration, measuring it at the beginning, and at the end of the school year, but don't make the measuring the only standard by which you teach. Very good point which I would like to be reading more about. Maybe teacherken will pick up on it.

That is the mantra of the McCain campaign. Paint a false image of what Obama stands for, and lie through your teeth about what McCain and Palin stand for.

I want the Obama camp to release a one-minute ad simply entitled "Lies", and then just verbally brutalize McCain's campaign. Make it fierce and angry, and then have Obama finding his inner Howard Beale for about a week on the stump.
FORCE THE MEDIA TO COVER THIS 24-7. This needs to be drilled into the citizenry's head -- they are lying their ever-living guts out, they are trying to win the Presidency under deceitful pretenses. Otherwise, they may get away with it.  

Thanks for doing some background rather than simply reposing McCain campaign talking points like another blog which will remain nameless...  

of McCain using the exact same "lipstick on a pig" phrase during the primary.   The scrolling newsfeed also states that they have found at least 4 other examples.

When you can't talk issues, you make up stuff and throw it against the wall!  That is the McCain campaign strategy!  At some point the American public will get it, and we can only pray they turn their backs on it!

As I heard a commentator say last night on TV, this will be another lost day where Obama's message does not get out. Guess what the lead story was when I woke up to WTOP this morning? And when I turned on the "Today" show? You got it. When will the media stop playing into the McCain camp's hands? Are there no cases of "faux outrage" that are simply too stupid or calculated to report on?

This is all feeling strangely reminiscent of the Allen campaign pulling passages out of Webb's books. A slight majority of Virginia voters saw through that tactic. I hope America is smarter as a whole.

The Roanoke Times put out articles on the McC campaign in the AM edition. And then the one on the Obama rally was half-taken up by the faux outrage and other Republican spin.

This "lipstick-gate" nonsense is really over the top.  I've heard that expression used for years as a metaphor for making superficial changes to a bad program, esp. in the context of an IT project.  Engineers use it to refer to making changes in the screen displays of a badly flawed software application without changing the underlying code.  There is nothing sexist whatsoever in its usage.  

Let's hope that the Obama campaign takes the high road and doesn't respond in kind.

BTW, I'm surprised that no one has pointed out Ms. Torie Clark's principal claim to fame:  she was Donald Rumsfeld's press flack at the Pentagon.