Posted by
Longplay on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:54:10 AM
The morning drive-time radio team was engaging callers this morning in a discussion of whether Obama’s recent “lipstick on a pig” comment was an intentional attack on Sarah Palin or merely a description of the GOP’s policies.
The audience was split on the answer but leaned slightly to the sense that Obama knew what he was doing, which is my take.
While Obama’s campaign has shown much stupidity of late, they can’t be accused of not being clever and devious. Obama and his staff knew perfectly well that in using this well-known phrase they were getting a two-fer. They could seem to be attacking McCain’s policies yet at the same time get a dig in on the bottom of the ticket, all the while knowing that the commomness of the expression lent them plausible deniability of the latter.
The evidence of Obama’s intent can be seen in his delivery of the line. First, he verbally stumbled and hesitated before making the quip. Second, rather than maintaining eye contact with his audience during the utterance, he looked down. Thirdly, and most telling, was his full stop after the line, the rhetorical trick of someone whose script says “pause for laughter” – the laughter they knew would come.
The ironic thing is that, even if Obama was only speaking to his opponents’ policies, it’s yet another example of the Democrat trick, perfected by Bill Clinton, of the pot calling the kettle black.
Essentially, Obama’s rhetoric amounts to putting the lipstick of caring and compassion on the tired old failed, and dangerous, pig of socialism.
“All animals are equal , but some animals are more equal than others.” – a proclamation from the pigs on the Animal Farm