Heights Cartoon- The Lipstick War

Barack Obama forced on the defensive over Sarah Palin 'lipstick on a pig' comment
Senator Barack Obama has been forced on the defensive over remarks in which his opponents claimed he compared his rival's running mate Sarah Palin to a pig.


By Alex Spillius in Lebanon, Virginia
Last Updated: 12:40AM BST 11 Sep 2008
; http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid1786789768 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

The furore came as Mr Obama struggled to cope with the explosive impact of that the Republican vice-presidential nominee has made on the race for the White House.

It centres on an apparently innocent comment the Democrat candidate made at a rally in which he derided John McCain's claim to be the true agent of change by saying: "You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig."

Many in the crowd at a school gym in Lebanon howled with delight, clearly thinking he was referring to Mrs Palin, who joked that the only difference between a "hockey mom" and a pitbull was lipstick.

The McCain camp response was swift, releasing an internet advertisement accusing Mr Obama of sexism.

At a speech in Norfolk, Virginia that was meant to focus on his education policy, Mr Obama had to digress into a lengthy condemnation of his Mr McCain's tactics.

"They seize on an innocent remark, try to take it out of context, throw up an outrageous ad, because they know that it's catnip to the news media," he said.

"The McCain campaign would rather have a story about phony and foolish diversions than about the future."

Though it was clear that Mr Obama meant no offence to Mrs Palin, he missed the fact that lipstick is now irrevocably associated with her in the political discourse.

The row highlights what even Democrat strategists concede has been a very bad period for the Illinois senator.

They have struggled to find an appropriate response to Mrs Palin, an ultra conservative mother-of-five with a reputation as a reformer, who has energized Republican voters and helped Mr McCain to his first lead in the polls.

White women are now deserting Mr Obama is droves with her emergence, according to an ABC/Washington Post survey which recorded that an eight point lead the Democrat had over his rival had been switched to a 12 point lead for Mr McCain.

Despite the widely-regarded brilliance of his campaign so far, Mr Obama and his staff, many of whom are working in their first presidential battle, have handed easy gifts to Mr McCain.

They have been readily exploited by sharply focused and highly aggressive veterans of George W Bush's 2004 victory now running the Arizona senator's campaign. Some Democrats worry Mr Obama could be a victim of the same negative tactics that helped defeat Senator John Kerry then.

The day Mrs Palin was selected, Obama spokesman Bill Burton drew flak for demeaning Wasilla, the town where Mrs Palin was mayor for six years, and by extension all of small town America.

The campaign also questioned Mr McCain's honour after he approved a misleading online ad on Mr Obama's education policy, a risky jibe against the former prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Joe Trippi, a veteran Democratic consultant, said: "Rule number one at the moment had to be 'don't mention lipstick', or anything feminine. The Obama people have clearly missed a beat or two. They are reacting to things they shouldn't, or over-reacting to some things, but you can't go through two years of campaigning without that happening. They have time to recover."

Doug Schoen, who advised former President Bill Clinton through his second electoral victory, said: "Obama hasn't developed a narrative that focuses on John McCain and he is suffering. He has to say in very simple terms that this election is about the weak policies of McCain and Sarah Palin and make clear he is a non-partisan, centrist candidate dedicated to delivering results. If he can't do that he is in trouble."

Other Democrats were however less gloomy. Matt Bennett, a former aide to Mr Clinton and Al Gore, said mistakes were inevitable in any campaign.

"Campaigns are young people's games, and they have 18 months' experience up against Hillary Clinton, who is no slouch, and they outfought her which is no small thing. Bill Clinton won in 1992 with some advisers with no experience and others who had just run Senate races, like many of Obama's team," he said.