Do Obama's supporters, the Obama campaign, and Obama really want voters asking "Did Obama just call Palin a pig?" Because they're doing a remarkably good job of it, so far. With the image at "left," Jeralyn turns the knobs up to 11.
Now, I've looked at Atrios on this subject too, and for both these writers the strategy of denial is the same: First, a citation to some past use of "lipstick on a pig." Second, the claim that since the past use of "lipstick on a pig" was innocuous, Obama's use in the present must be innocuous, too. People, clue stick:
1. "Lipstick on a pig" is a cliche. Of course others have used it in the past.
2. However, Obama used the cliche right after Palin made a joke about "putting lipstick" "on a pit bull" in front of 37 million people, and he used the cliche in front of a politically engaged audience that would very likely have seen that same speech. In that context, to many, and to me, it looked like a clear riposte. "Words matter."
3. And finally, many of Obama's supporters "got it" right away. Their reaction? Of course, he meant Palin. Now, most of them aren't blessed with advanced degrees in obfuscatory verbiage with a minor in tendentiousness. Perhaps that accounts for the difference in reaction.
Rank stupidity and context-free analysis didn't used to be a feature -- I assume it's not a bug -- of the media critique performed by our tribunes of the people in the blogosphere.
What could have changed?
Oh, cute glasses. Pink; heart-shaped; very feminine. Who could the image be of? Here's looking at you, kid....
NOTE 1 I'm not experiencing outrage over this, even faux outrage. I'm outraged by Obama betraying us with a "universal" health care plan that isn't, because that could be a matter of life and death; and I was outraged when Obama smeared Hillary by implying she wanted him assassinated. This little incident saddens me, simply because it's so typical. As Paul said:
The damage done by the normalization of sexism in public discourse does far more damage to women than any policy changes being contemplated by McCain.
NOTE 2 Jeralyn's headline is "McCain Camp's Phony Lipstick Charge Won't Fly." For the record, I don't plan to vote R (though, of course, in a post-partisan world that's a 100% legitimate and non-evil option), so I'm not in the McCain camp. I just choose not to put blinders on during the election season, that's all.
UPDATE Glenn's column is a lot better. At least he traces the propagation through sources. Nevertheless... See #1, #2, #3 above. After all, what Obama said, and the reaction his own supporters to it, is at the heart of the story, is it not? Not the gleeful uses that others made of it? Oh, er, and why could this possibly be an important issue? Because I keep asking how you can possibly build a "progressive" movement on the basis of sexism and misogyny, and I never get an answer. See Paul's comment above.
UPDATE Shakes, with McCain's a Disingenuous Asshole, has the best rebuttal, naturally: She puts the statement in an even larger context, and argues the statement is about the economy -- what, in fact, I've been screaming for Obama to do; commenter DamonMI agrees. I find that a likeable enough argument, but I'm going with the crowd reaction, the online reaction, Obama's past history, and shoddiness of the planted talking points on Tier Two, the A list, which would have explained that the point was really the economy immediately, if that was the point they were trying to make. Sorry.
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My comment @ Glenn's place
http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwa...
It is seriously time for the Greatest Speech About Gender Evah
Now, some of us thought the Greatest Speech About Race Evah was merely a double-talking smokescreen, and that the Wright controversy was really about Obama's convenient religious grandstanding and how religiosity gave the often pleasingly radical Rev. Wright air cover to be a big jerk at times.
Of course, we were wrong. Oddly enough, though, Rev. Wright subsequently turned into a big jerk. Who knew?
Anyway, it's time for Hillary Clinton to clean up this mess she caused by committing CWF (Campaigning While Female).
And I see that the McCain campaign
already has a thirty-second ad out jabbing Obama for sexism.
He pulled this crap on Clinton, and Obama supporters argued that his words and actions were innocent and not at all sexist. Now he's doing this kind of thing with Palin. He may think he's cute, but he's just adding fuel to the fire. I still believe that he wasn't necessarily targeting her (although I just read that Biden also made a reference`to lipstick), but he's playing right into McCain's hands, thanks to what went on during the primary.
It's not just that it's a stupid dig, it's that the man is running for president of the United States, not president of some fraternity! How about some maturity here?
I didn't think it was funny during the prmary, and I don't think it's funny now. Attack her and McCain on the issues. Is that too hard a concept?
It's the economy.
Stupid.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Get out of the way! It's a train wreck!
I can't watch.
There are political arguments taking place in the corridors at work over Obama is a jerk or a BIG jerk. Heated ones. With raised voices. It worries me because I wasn't involved in it but I couldn't ignore it. He has managed to piss off just about everyone for different reasons"
The RINO woman who is finished with him over the 'lipstick' remark.
The moderate independent who thinks he a commie.
The apolitical crazy guy who doesn't know *what* to think.
And myself, who will never trust him or the DNC for rigging the primaries and the convention.
We all have one thing in common: We would have all voted for Hillary in the general election.
What a fricking disaster.
Come together at The Confluence
Come together at The Confluence
My comment at TL
Got a link on that?
[Replacing my initial snark: Didn't she have cable?]
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Lambert, Update/Correction: I found the post where
Jeralyn mentioned a policy about sexism*. I had remembered it differently from her actual wording, and my memory was not accurate. It was in a post about new commenting rules posted on 9/3.
I remember thinking, ah, that's why she didn't mention such things during the time she was supporting Hillary. However, she did say something today about the "lipstick on a pig" comment:
I apologize for writing a post which was misleading about TL.
(Drat, lost my first iteration of this update/correction by putting it into preview status. Still lost it when I went out for the quote. Oh, well.)
*I apparently broke the rule about sexism as my comment has been deleted. Heh.
Re: cable. Jeralyn has worked on several cable talk shows and knows most of the players. I don't think she sees them in the same light we who are simply consumers of news/talk shows see them. Being coworkers and friends tends to affect how we react to others' actions and words.
The Repubs labeling Obama as an elitist gains traction from the
1)decades long practice of painting all Big Dems as elitists (tried with Bill Clinton, but it conflicted too strongly with the Bubba hick small Southern state governor image they were also using--plus, Clinton knew how to connect with an audience), and
2) Obama's way of holding his head somewhat bent backwards, chin slightly elevated, and seeming to look down his nose at people. It screams "Elitist!".
I have a recollection of Obama watching Richardson giving his speech endorsing Obama, with Obama, arms folded across his chest for awhile, head thrown back in that way, literally looking down his nose at Richardson. Also, some of the time not even looking at Richardson, but looking at the floor. Obama looked both bored and disdainful. I felt very, very uncomfortable watching him watch and not watch Richardson; it made me feel sorry for Richardson, actually and at that point I had no reason to feel sympathy for him.
Obama may not mean to be "looking down his nose," but he does it--and it creates an image. Some seem to interpret it as one of strength, since the campaign uses that image of the head held slightly back in photos and posters. Others feel somewhat put down by it. It also creates distance between Obama and his listeners, which may work when one is The One You Have Been Waiting For, but not if the voter views him as human and just a candidate asking for one's vote.
I'm kind of amazed no one in the campaign has worked with him on changing this stance. Maybe they have--I don't watch him that much just lately.
Does he still do that?
He not only still does it
he did it with Hillary at the "Unity
" event in NH. I thought I was the only one who was bothered by it at the time. All the Teebee commentators were saying how nice it was that he stayed on the stage and looked relaxed. I thought to myself, "Either get up and be respectful, or get the fuck OFF the stage."
It *is* distancing. So is saying "They think *you're* stupid."
You mean
Like the shirt they are peddling?
I commented on that "looking down his nose" thing in the that posts thread.
You have to be careful here Jawbone, you are treading on thin ice if you mention Obama's "attitude". Arrogant, superior, condescending, these are all euphemisms for "uppity" and that way "you are a racist" lies.
-----------------------------
Around these parts we call cucumber slices circle bites
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
Obama "stands back" and watches others watching him
I'm not a psychologist (but I can play one pretty easily!) but I think the head cock back stance is from years and years of psychologically observing himself in situations and needing to hold himself back--for fear of being hurt etc.. and now it manifests in his body language.
The added benefit of this now is that he gets to observe himself being observed and adored by 75,000 "fans" as well as endorsed by obviously politically and charismatically challenged former opponents.
PS: My PhD is in the mail!
dupager
dupager
Quoted without comment (or a cheap Larry Craig joke)
"head cock back stance"
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy comments
ON ME! No one looks better than me with lipstick, human or pig!
--lol!
(i miss her) : >
In the spirit of "moving on" ...
Let's call this a "gaffe." That was the accepted term for Hillary's reference to RFK in the very most sympathetic coverage she got from media and lefty blogs.
Mentioning that a famous event occurred in June was a "gaffe" because... it wouldn't do to admit that there was zero merit to the "controversy." None.
Here, where the chosen phrase directly echoes a famous statement recently made by Sarah Palin, and with sensitivities raw based on countless sexist comments about both her and Obama's main rival in the primaries, will people who see no ill intent categorize this as a "gaffe"? Nope. Just file that fact under "O" for Obama Rules.
but they're escalating it--not moving on--
that's what's so dumb--they're blastfaxing lists of Repubs saying it, and Obama's still talking about it on the stump today.
He's still talking about it because sexism is all he's got.
It's who he is, it's what he does, it's how he won the primary, along with blatant caucus fraud, open vote robbery, and rank private and public intimidation. It's teh passion of his "life." It's all he knows.
If he wins, it's what's for dinner, for at least four years. And it's for breakfast, lunch, and bedtime snacks as well.
"You'd better get this straight. Wise up before it's too late." -- Sister Sledge
JFK has been shot, we miss him a lot
He always knew what to do
-- Philly Cream