Joe Willie On The Shrimpbox: pigs and lipstick

BARACK OBAMA's campaign says JOHN McCAIN is offering lies, phony outrage and swift boat politics by claiming he made a sexist comment at a rally Tuesday in Virginia. At issues is Obama's comment that you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. He used that old saying while arguing McCain's economic policies are just like PRESIDENT BUSH's. The McCain camp accused Obama of smearing Governor Palin.
Obama's campaign points out that McCain has used that phrase himself , most recently while talking about HILLARY CLINTON. That is, while talking about Hillary Clinton's policies.

Does anyone really believe that Obama called Sarah Palin a pig? Don't be silly.
This was not an insult as much as it was ill-advised and a very ill-conceived line because it opened the door for political opportunism. We're in a touchy place: The area where you can't go too heavy on Obama because he's black or you can't go too heavy because Palin is a woman.
We have to decide whether or not we wanna protect these candidates from intense scrutiny or not, and tough campaigning or not, and whether we will defend these candidates because we've taken a liking to them and then feel personally insulted by comments that get twisted and manipulated by savvy campaign managers who trick you into believing the message they want you to believe. This is what political advisors talk about when they're alone and talking about how deft they are at their craft. These are smart, savvy people --as good as any we've ever seen-- and they know exactly how to move the masses. They know they have great power, and all it takes is one word, one phrase --to cast the impression they want, to get you to think the way they want you to. If they didn't have that kind of power, we'd be talking about issues and not lipstick.
And here's the important lesson, the critical component as this latest emotionally driven non-story demonstrates: Candidates must understand that they are not campaigning against their opponents; they are campaigning against campaign advisers. Beat them and you win the election.