McCain camp screwing up by reponding to Pig comment (vanity)

Me

[Scythian]

I believe is a major mistake by the McCain camp. They could have let the 'Pig' comment go and been endeared even further. But now, they are taking on the victim status and seem small and petty, and as if they are using this as a way to avoid talking about issues. This response is going to cause Obama to take back the lead again in the polls.

[Barb4Bush]

McCain can be outraged but Sarah herself has to laugh it off. Say something like “Oh please I have more important things to worry about than whether or not someone’s calling me names”. Barracudas shouldn’t whine and I really hope Sarah doesn’t.

[OB1kNOb]

McCain should drop the lipstick complaint when 0bama drops the complaint about conservatives attacking his muslim faith.

[Blue Turtle]

Phony outrage? Anyone remember the outrage towards Trent Lott...by a willing media?

[gridlock]

I think McCain/Palin are going to score the point, tie it to Obama’s continuing record of sexist outrages, and move on.

The point will not be lost on American women.

[Petronski]

It keeps him off balance and off message.

It keeps him on the defense for another news cycle.

[FReepaholic]

I tend to agree with what you said.

I think Sarah should make light of it at her next appearance: "Mr. Obama, did you call me a pig?".. and laugh.

And then drop it and move on.

[isthisnickcool]

Obama and Biden (The Duke Brothers)

The "lipstick" comments HAVE to be pointed out by the McCain-Palin Campaign. Why? Because Obama/Biden are calling this woman a pig. It is either that or Obama/Biden are too stupid to not have known about one of the biggest applause lines that Palin gave in her speech. Does anyone think they are that dumb? Of course not. And nothing comes out of Obama's mouth unless it is scripted.

Obama/Biden are like the Duke brothers who think they owned everything in the Eddie Murphy "Trading Places". They both think that they OWN the right to the presidency and the power that comes with it. Biden thinks so because he has hung around long enough to have "earned" it. I think Obama thinks he deserves the presidency simply because his skin is dark and he is smarter than everyone else in his own little mind.

No folks, this was an intentional move by the Obama/Biden campaign. A stupid one but as least the media is talking about Obama/Biden now. LOL!

McCain/Palin are cleaning the Obama/Biden clock!

[padre35]

Indeed, milk it, but it should be ended by Sarah Palin herself at a time of her/our benefit, not a second earlier.

This is red meat for Palin on a stump speech with the women coming from miles to see and hear her.

But I do think it should not be shopped out to surrogates anymore, Gov. Swift’s response was sufficient IMO.

[waxer1]

Not a major mistake, although I agree with Laura Ingraham that the matter should be dropped post haste. They need to keep focused and not let anything including Gov. Palin’s popularity overwelm this campaign.

I am thrilled with Gov. Palin bar none, but they need to really hammer on the issues and not let anything else distract them.

Obama’s camp is already imploding just let this matter go.

[Brookhaven]

I disagree 100%. McCain is taking the Democratic playbook and using it against them.

Democrats routinely take small, offhand remarks made by Republicans and blow them up into a major controversy. It is designined to throw the Republican off balance.

Meanwhile, Democrats know that since the press (and Republicans) don’t call them on their remarks, they can be as outrageous or subtle (as in the pig comment) as they want.

Calling Obama on this (even if it seems over the top to some) is going to throw the Obama campaign off balance and off their game plan. Now, instead of feeling safe and confident that they could use these types of sly, insidious remarks they are going to be thinking twice and acting tentative.

McCain is changing the playing field by saying he won’t allow the Obama campaign to have it both ways anymore.

It’s a good move.

[Claud]

I agree in the sense that it’s not 100% clear to me that this remark was intentionally derogatory on Obama’s part. I think common courtesy demands we give him the benefit of the doubt. The crowd seemed to take it as an off-color remark, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he meant it like that.

However. If it can be shown somehow that he *did* mean it that way, and that this was planned and orchestrated as a sleazy underhanded dig by the Obama campaign which they could plausibly deny, then I say McCain should fire away on it with both barrels until election day.

[kempo]

I agreee 100%. Fight fire with fire. One of the biggest reasons the Republican party lost power in congress is they wouldn’t stand up to the liberal BS. I don’t know if they were following President Bush’s lead in trying to bend over backwards to please the left but it didn’t work. Conservatives want people who will stand up an attack when they are attacked.

[metmom]

Great comments!

[xDGx]

It's not just the pig comment, it's pigs and fish and cutesy pauses. The McCain camp can dispense with it, but those tapes, the COPMPLETE ONES with BOTH comments and the crowds reaction should be spread all over the place. Maybe even attach Barry's smug response to unequivecolly display what an arrogant little pr*ck he is. (from one of the Hillary boards - that's Barry flipping Hillary off - would have asked for permission to borrow but they are not permitting registration)

[FlipWilson]

I thought so at first, but now have to disagree. See, Obama has dispatched his “dig up the dirt” team to Alaska. This is the same team that opened the divorce records of the Ryan's, his Senate opponent, forcing him to withdraw from the race.

When Obama’s team comes up with their dirt launches attacks, he will look like he is no more than a common dirty Chicago politician doing more of the same. It will also allow the McCain camp to link him directly to the attacks by saying they are more of the same thing we saw when Obama made his lipstick and pig comment. In that respect, this was a good preemptive strike by the McCain campaign.

[Harry Wurzbach]

No way. This was great. It’s best to keep the opponent on his heels and under a cloud of suspicion, especially of sexism. Obama has lost a ton of female support and gaffes like this will only reinforce that decision.

That said, it has run its course. Now all we need is for Gov. Palin to blow it off and say something like “I’ve heard worse when I was taking down the good old boys network in Alaska.” So she appears as the tough lady she is, having to deal with the neanderthals of the left.

[ameagle]

False.

Think if Pres Bush had called Gore or Kerry a pig? Or an OLD stinky fish? No you can't.

Pig is one of the worst things a muslim can call another person. Muslim's have a history of belittling women. Not saying Obama is a muslim...but he call Gov Palin a pig.

His intent was to dismiss her and insult her in a very vulgar manner.

Regarding his insult to McCain - he focused on Old. Yet again, anther stereotype regarding McCain's age.

Everyone in the audience knows what Obama was referring to. He made it personal. He was ghetto. Now he's trying to deny he meant to say what he said. He's lying.

[1035rep]

This response is going to cause Obama to take back the lead again in the polls.

Nope.  This is only one of many reasons Barry is being rejected by the voters. 

[rogue yam]

I agree that they should have just brushed it off. They could have made a joke about Bambi getting rattled and left it at that.