Lipstick on a piggy told a tale on you Obama

McCain: look at them piggies

Politics has silly moments when serious debate ends up as handbags at dawn. Oh dear, figure of speech not a reference to one of the Vice Presidents being of the female gender – it is an old expression. Whoops, no reference intended to the 70 plus year olds in the campaign.

Basically Barack Obama at a meeting was talking about McCain’s economic plan, and how it was no different to the Bush one, using the analogy “You can put lipstick on a pig; it is still a pig”. The audience got a bit excited at the comment, and it is being inferred by the Republican camp that this was a slur on Sarah Palin. In her speech (which you can watch here) at the RNC she made the comment that the difference between a hockey mum and a pitball was lipstick.

Now it is an expression – one that McCain himself made use of when attacking Hillary Clinton’s reform ideas for health care as First Lady. Yet the news is out there and what will matter is the spin, and whether anyone can be bothered to look at the evidence.

McCain is leading in the polls at the moment – 46% to 41, overcoming a 7 point deficit in the same poll a month ago. From a civic participation POV it would be great if that was based on a knowledge of the candidates economic policies. Or at least their position on pork barrel politics. With reform of Washington being the central, piggy-in-the-middle position of the two candidates.

Ok, I am squealing the pig reference to death. I am sure that American politics will be serious from here on in. When that happens look up; it will be a sight. But one thing which we can try and prevent is the unnecessary testing of cosmetics on animals.

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