Who cares, it's just a saying.

I don't think it's news, and I honestly don't think I'm saying that because I'm an Obama supporter. If McCain had said the same thing (which obviously, he did) I'd feel the same way...it's a phrase that pre-dates both Obama and Palin...and I'd like to know what exactly he was talking about before he made the comment that they used in that little clip in the commercial.

Also, if they're going to imply that Obama is sexist for using that comment, does it also follow that Cheney and McCain are also sexist for using it?

Exactly--it's an old saying.

I read the linked article and apparently it's a line Cheney used frequently.

If Cheney uses is to describe Kerry, it's not sexist, but if Obama uses it to describe Palin, it is?

Double standards. There has been some real sexism towards her, and imo, this is not an example of it.

Are there going to be words banned from the race? Pitbull? Lipstick? Hockey? What's next?

So now Palin owns the word "lipstick"????

It is a common phrase.
What was it Obama said in his convention speech...they will try to make a big election about little things? That is exactly what we are seeing now.

I think both sides are trying to make it about little things, but that's just me. (And that's just politics.)

yeah this is not an example of sexism. thank you citizen for the third option on the poll... it sums up my thoughts perfectly. at some point in the past year, the media went from simply being laughable, to being that annoying girl in high school who would tell everyone what everyone else said about them... because no one was talking about her.

Yes, both sides get snippy about every little thing and start acting like children. It's unfortunate.

The timing was very interesting. As a politician, he should've used a different phrase to describe his views on McCain's ecconomic policy. It was his mistake, no matter how it gets spinned. He stepped in it, and now it's time to pay.

geez it's just a saying.

"Also, if they're going to imply that Obama is sexist for using that comment, does it also follow that Cheney and McCain are also sexist for using it?"
exactly em.

Everyone does stuff like this during an election--it's nothing new and no one is above it. That's why it's politics, as lilkim said...

a saying is a saying, people need to get over it, it's not like he came up with it. I am so sick of the gender card being pulled especially after the Killa from Wasilla herself said she didn't like hearing the oh it's cos I'm a woman story. Boo hoo f-ing hoo get over it, she's rolling with the big boys now and she better be able to take it!

OMG...this is not news!!!! McCain said it about Hilary, it was'nt news. Cheney has said it. One of McCain's campaign advisers has a book titled "lipstick on a pig". Let's move on already! Let's get back to the issues, like healthcare, education, war, equal pay for woman & the economy.

Problem is this, it's not a good look for a man, especially a Black man, to come out aggressively against a woman. This is why McCain is hiding behind Palin and the Repubs. are trying to goad Obama to attack her so they can cry sexism.

Sad shame, but reality.

I think Obama should continue to let them parade Palin around like the last great hope that they keep trying to make her out to be and continue to hammer away at the issues.

In summations, don't take the bait Obama, leave it alone.

I'm ready for the debates to start so there will be something to talk about. It's just a distraction to was really brewing beneath the surface.

I for one am going to stop wearing lipstick until after the election, just to be safe. Because, you know, I would SAY pro-Obama things while WEARING lipstick and Lord knows THAT might offend someone!

Sarah Palin wore lipstick while accepting the nomination AND she mentioned lipstick in her speech, so clearly she owns the term!

You know, if you say the word "lipstick" enough times it sounds pretty funny.

If you look at the entire comment, he was clearly talking about McCain. Why was McCain ready to apply it Palin? Seems like every comment gets applied to Palin now.

McCain is not hiding behind Palin in the least. He continues to campaign and speak just as much as before. Democrats happen to be focusing on Palin because she is an easier target.

And no one is "parading Palin around like the last great hope," either. The Republicans speak about issues just as much as the Democrats, but issues don't make the news; you have to seek out their issues-related speeches.

Liberty...that's something I'd like to know. I really don't understand this controversy. It makes no sense. Maybe the timing is off, but I sense when did any campaign own the lipstick line. Obama was on this morning, and he said it perfectly - "Enough". Let's get on to what Americans really want to talk about and it's this country and what we can do to improve it.

Hmm, interesting point Liberty...

Before people start feeling offended, maybe they should watch the rest of the speech. Then they'd realize how completely out of context this snippet was taken.

lipstick on a pig? I've never heard that saying before.

Can we please have the election next Tuesday? I am so tired of these campaigns.

I think the pitbull/lipstick comment was ridiculous. But that's just my opinion.

McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, for whatever reason he chose her (maybe it was her states close proximity to Russia?), has worked for him. She has become very popular very quickly. I guess he doesn't feel he needs someone with much experience since he has been around for so long. With Bush many people voted for him because "he was someone I would like to have a beer with". It seems people feel Sarah Palin is someone they would like to date or a mom that they can relate to. It's sad when we put people in such huge positions of power based on such superficial things.

"Can we please have the election next Tuesday? I am so tired of these campaigns"

Oh if only!

Hee! I agree, javsmav. My friend in the UK follows American politics pretty closely (haha maybe more closely than I) and even *she* is weary of all the election coverage.

Good point Roarman. Personally, I think Palin is a novelty, and doesn't have anything new to offer the American people. Her views seems to run right along with Bush--hell, they even have the same speech writer. Same stuff, just new packaging.

monday at swim practice my 7 year old kicked another kid in the face. it was an accident, but the other child had a bloody nose. i told her she needed to tell the other child that she was sorry. "why?" she asked "it was an accident." and i told her "because it's the nice thing to do. because whether you meant to or not you hurt someone else and saying 'i'm sorry you're hurt' costs you nothing and makes them feel better." she did and the incident was immediately over.

tuesday on the way to swim practice my 9 year old brought up this lipstick comment. it was embarrassing to me to try and explain why someone running for president of the united states couldn't see that what he said could be insulting to his opponent. my 7 year old piped up with "even if you didn't mean it you say sorry".

obama is leaving coming off poorly here. he needs to say that while the remark was not directed at palin he could see how her or her supporters might think it was and that there was no insult intended. it's the nice thing to do and then we can all move on.

I think it's odd that some of the regular posters on here still believe that most McCain/Palin voters are voting based on superficial things, even though the regular conservative posters have reiterated time and time again that we're not. In the end, an equal number of people on both sides probably vote on superficial things.

I don't get why it's immediately attributed to Sarah Palin either ...

Why should he say he's sorry? It was a reference to McCain's "change" them. If he offended you, then maybe you should ask the McCain camp to apologize to you for making you feel that his statement was offensive. If anything, the rotting fish line for McCain was far worst then this one.

This is the part of politics that I cannot stand. All the mudslinging on both sides is tiring.

Lickey Split, I think that if people listened to the entire comment, they would see that it's not directed at Palin, even though the word "lipstick" was used. I think that if people want to go ahead and make the assumption that he was talking about her, then they do that at their own risk, and people are guilty of doing those kinds of things regardless of their political beliefs. As for what to tell your 7 year old, that's another thing entirely, since when I was 7 I think the only thing I cared about were spelling bees and My Little Ponies. They keep getting smarter, eh?

Ah, Le Etiana, I agree. And thanks for making this post look better with a bit of Vartan. Yowza.

it's absurd. so now they can never say the word lipstick? give me a break, i hate that this is on the news

i'm all for a woman being in the white house, absolutely. i just don't feel like she has earned it or deserves it.
but that's just my opinion.

people will assign as much importance to a comment like this (and for that matter what someone actually means or does not mean by it) in the way that best suits them.

Nothing new here, if the tables were turned, people would freak out in the opposite direction.

liberty i agree i felt that comment was toward mccain and not palin, but of course it will be spinned that way

It's not news!! It's just another example of the McCain campaign tryin to distract us from the real issues. And it's working!! He's making himself into a martyr over this, and we're eating it up. What a crock of you-know-what. I don't understand why we Americans believe everything McCain says!

I'm without a doubt an 'undecided' and this nonsense has definitely made me lean towards Obama. I find it completely offensive that we are discussing a cliched saying and discussing whether it was sexism. Its a complete disservice to women, like many of us, who face real SEXISM everyday.
Also, I find it incredibly offensive that we are dissecting language when we are on the cusp of a new Cold War, fighting 2 real wars, and our financial systems are falling apart. Does this drive anybody else crazy? Because its really bothering me.

I thought McCain/Palin were tougher than that.

I hear you krock. I wish people would just get down to the issues, but honestly, the sound bites are more tantalizing to most people than, you know, reading up on the candidates' positions on important problems going on in the world...

Thanks Em. The debates should make it a bit better. But I don't know because even those debates ask dumb questions. (refer to the 'flag pin' nonsense)

The Repubs with their crocodile tears, everything is a problem.

It's just a saying -- a really old one.

I don't get angry often, but this has literally left me furious. Krock, I am with you. I am offended at this point. It is an old saying and if you are really going to play the sexism card, be careful because last I checked the McCain camp and republicans in general were quite critical of Clinton for this very reason.

Although, I think Jon Stewart pointed out these double standards far better than I ever could. For anyone that hasn't seen this and has a good 5 1/2 minutes...enjoy! http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah...

Granted, this is a comedy show, but sadly, he's one of the few that actually calls people out on this malarkey and juxtaposes real interviews to show real hypocrisy

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is. It is an old saying, I use it all the time. I'm offended this is even making news and there is no reason to apologize. Why? Because a) the remark was never aimed at her and b) because they aren't 7 year olds at a pool.

I have to second what the Obama/Biden campaign rep said in sentiment if not in an exact quote: this is a pitiful attempt by the McCain/Palin campaign to play the gender card.

It's an old saying, one that McCain himself used when speaking about Clinton's health plan during the primaries. But even if it weren't, Palin opened the door with her own "pit bull but with lipstick" riff at the RNC.

It also just bothers me because it smacks of Conservative Feminism. Let women say what they want, but don't forget that they also need to be protected!

McCain, a senator from Arizona, has used the "lipstick on a pig" line in the past himself, specifically earlier in the campaign when talking about the policies of Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, who lost in the primaries to Obama.

Torie Clarke, a longtime McCain adviser and former Pentagon press secretary, wrote a book entitled, "Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game."

Source: Reuters

Why are Repubs being so "butt hurt" over this. I thought this lady was a self-proclaimed "pitbull"??????

WTF??

Evidently its just fine if McCain says it directly about Hillary, but if Obama even USES THE PHRASE, they decide it must be about Palin and cry "sexism".

LOL.

Big, fat lol.

That's rich from the same party that includes the likes of Claytie "lay back and enjoy it" Williams and Rush "we have the babe in our party" Limbaugh.

It's the same way for Dems, wadewifey. It continues to amaze me that people actually attribute political maneuvering to one party or the other.