Did Palin and her cronies use the lipstick smear to set up Obama?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the political tactics used by Sarah Palin and her associates in relation to Barack Obama's use of the phrase "lipstick on a pig." Participants explore the implications of this metaphor, its origins, and the broader context of political messaging and media manipulation during the campaign. The conversation touches on themes of disinformation, celebrity culture in politics, and the perceived hypocrisy of candidates.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that Palin and her team deliberately set up Obama by modifying his metaphor to create a misrepresentation that could be politically exploited.
  • Others suggest that the entire controversy is contrived and distracts from more significant issues, indicating a belief that politicians often engage in trivial bickering.
  • A few participants point out that McCain has also used similar phrases, questioning the consistency of the criticism directed at Obama.
  • There are claims that the media is complicit in spinning narratives that serve political agendas, particularly regarding the Iraq War and the portrayal of candidates.
  • Some express skepticism about the authenticity of claims made during the campaign, such as the alleged malfunction of a teleprompter during the Republican Convention.
  • Participants reflect on the broader implications of political messaging and the tactics used to sway public opinion, with some emphasizing the need to focus on substantive issues rather than personal attacks.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no clear consensus on the motivations behind the use of the "lipstick" metaphor or the overall significance of the controversy. Some agree on the triviality of the issue, while others defend the importance of discussing the tactics involved.

Contextual Notes

Several claims made in the discussion rely on subjective interpretations of political events and statements, with varying degrees of skepticism about the accuracy of reported incidents. The discussion reflects a mix of personal opinions and interpretations of political strategy without resolving the underlying uncertainties.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in political communication, campaign strategies, and media influence in politics may find this discussion relevant. It may also appeal to those examining the dynamics of political discourse and public perception during election cycles.

Loren Booda
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Palin (and her cronies) set Obama up. They knew that the "put lipstick on a pig" metaphor was part of Obama's repertoire. They modified it to her own "hockey moms=pit bulls with lipstick" so the next time Obama used his own phrase, she could misrepresent and attack him. If only Americans could see through this.

As to pigs, they are among the smartest animals known, whereas pit bulls are often in the news for mauling and killing children. Now where's the insult?
 
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McCain has used that phrase as well:

 
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Animal Farm, My Dear.
 
Math: In now hypocritical reference to Ms. Clinton, I am told.

Cy: All politicians are more equal than their electorate.
 
It appears that the McCain people age going to use the same disinformation and indoctrination tactics that convinced most Americans that we should attack Iraq.

As with Iraq they are using the news media to do the spinning for them.
 
I haven't heard much about it since but a local conservative talk show host was trying to pin Obama on another comment he made regarding "... my muslim faith...".

If you listen to the whole quote, by the way, its pretty obvious that it was not a slip they are just trying to make it look like one.
 
Loren Booda said:
Palin (and her cronies) set Obama up.
Palin has cronies?!? I'm impressed!
They modified it to her own "hockey moms=pit bulls with lipstick" so the next time Obama used his own phrase, she could misrepresent and attack him.
I think you give them too much credit. In any case, politicians are bickering about nothing that somehow snowballed into something. And the press is talking about it. That doesn't mean we have to dignify it here. People need to let these nothing little tiffs go and focus more on things that matter.
 
If you want contrived, the whole Palin thing is that.

They have been planting little things all along. From when they first announced her and had her sign autographs on the stage selling the idea she was a celebrity, to when they "claim" that the teleprompter went out at the convention, likely story I might add, to use it as counterpoint to this nonsense about Obama not being able to speak without a Teleprompter.

Apparently the hope is that they can distract with these silly details and image disinformation campaigns and not have to face up to the more serious facts about McCain having been in the pocket of banking interests that have directly contributed to the prime rate meltdown and the plunging in home prices that the markets have been struggling to unwind.

As much as McCain wants to paint himself as McChange, he is apparently intimately involved with the lobbyists mess, business as usual, that he claims he now wants to reform. Such a terrible hypocrite waging such a cynical campaign.
 
  • #10
Huckabee showing some integrity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXokM9TaxeA

Maybe not all the right wingers are cynical propagandists.
 
  • #11
I agree with Huckabee and I agree with Russ.

If you watch the clip where Obama used the phrase, he doesn't react like he expected the reaction he got from the crowd. But, with the crowd clearly seeing some kind of link between Obama's comment and Palin's comment, there had to be some kind of response from Republicans.

I think the whole thing was worth about 5 minutes of attention.
 
  • #12
LowlyPion said:
If you want contrived, the whole Palin thing is that.

They have been planting little things all along. From when they first announced her and had her sign autographs on the stage selling the idea she was a celebrity...
Of course much of that was contrived for marketing purposes. That's what the conventions are.
Apparently the hope is that they can distract with these silly details...
Clearly, it's working on you!
the more serious facts about McCain having been in the pocket of banking interests that have directly contributed to the prime rate meltdown and the plunging in home prices that the markets have been struggling to unwind.
If you think there is a serious issue in there to discuss, then you should start a thread about that instead!
 
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  • #13
russ_watters said:
If you think there is a serious issue in there to discuss, then you should start a thread about that instead!

Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I will put together some issues in a thread, but I wouldn't do it instead of commenting here. I think I can probably handle posting about that elsewhere and still offer my voice about Palin's inexperience and hypocrisies here.

But thanks for the encouragement. A shy person like myself needs that kind of encouragement to come out of a shell and speak up more.
 
  • #14
Can we talk about real issues now? People need to grow up.
 
  • #15
LightbulbSun said:
Can we talk about real issues now? People need to grow up.

Sure. By all means let's talk about other issues. Except of course this thread is about the McCain Lipstick smear against Obama. And in this regard it is with great sadness that I must note that McCain is knee deep in making the claim. Where once I thought that it was issued by the Republican brown shirts that are running his media strategy, I see from this clip below that he actually believes that it is a fair complaint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCkgtisIz5A

About 2/3 of the way to the end he tries to say on the one hand his prior use of the phrase was OK, but Obama's comment about his economic policies was really aimed at Palin.
 
  • #16
LowlyPion said:
If you want contrived, the whole Palin thing is that.

They have been planting little things all along. From when they first announced her and had her sign autographs on the stage selling the idea she was a celebrity, to when they "claim" that the teleprompter went out at the convention, likely story I might add, to use it as counterpoint to this nonsense about Obama not being able to speak without a Teleprompter.

Apparently the hope is that they can distract with these silly details and image disinformation campaigns and not have to face up to the more serious facts about McCain having been in the pocket of banking interests that have directly contributed to the prime rate meltdown and the plunging in home prices that the markets have been struggling to unwind.

As much as McCain wants to paint himself as McChange, he is apparently intimately involved with the lobbyists mess, business as usual, that he claims he now wants to reform. Such a terrible hypocrite waging such a cynical campaign.

I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

Now I heard it reported that Palin referred to the Republican Convention teleprompter malfunction in Ohio today, and there are reporters that were at the convention who could see the teleprompter and it did NOT malfunction. It was a FICTION fabricated to make Palin compare favorably against Obama, because they had some excerpts showing Obama answering questions at a town hall meeting where he stumbled over his phrasing.

Lipstick on a pitbull indeed. A lying pitbull it seems.
 
  • #17
LowlyPion said:
I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

Now I heard it reported that Palin referred to the Republican Convention teleprompter malfunction in Ohio today, and there are reporters that were at the convention who could see the teleprompter and it did NOT malfunction. It was a FICTION fabricated to make Palin compare favorably against Obama, because they had some excerpts showing Obama answering questions at a town hall meeting where he stumbled over his phrasing.

Lipstick on a pitbull indeed. A lying pitbull it seems.

Hey... the teleprompter did malfunction! They just quickly replaced it. ;-p