Pinko Magazine Hedonism + Activism

Yesterday, at a campaign event in Virginia, Barack Obama employed an old southern colloquialism to describe Senator McCain’s assertion that he is now the candidate of change. Here is what Obama said:

“John McCain says he’s about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, ‘Watch out George Bush – except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics – we’re really gonna shake things up in Washington.’

That’s not change. That’s just calling something the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it’s still going to stink after eight years. We’ve had enough of the same old thing.”

The McCain camp only heard the words “Lipstick” and “Pig” and thought “Sarah Palin!”… Nice.

The campaign quickly put out a statement decrying Obama’s ’sexist’ smear. They even did one of those little iMovie projects they call “campaign ads” and gave it to the media so they can dutifully play it non-stop between now and November.

And what about the New York Post headline? “Lipstick Bungle“. I just love the New York Post!!

Of course Barack Obama wasn’t talking about Sarah Palin. He was using an old cliche, one McCain frequently uses himself, to talk about the other candidate’s platform. To that end I actually think the fish line was better.

But the part that really kills me is that Obama would have been perfectly justified in using this common idiom in reference to Sarah Palin. Only she isn’t the pig. She is the lipstick.

The oddly familiar Republican platform is the pig.

Oink.

About The Author - Stirling McLaughlin is an Art Director, Designer and Illustrator in New York City. Stirling enjoys vegan baking, expensive sportswear and mustard and relish sandwiches. Stirling lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter. - Visit Stirling's site.