He meant it on purpose...I’ve heard that phrase all my life, but when I heard him say it, the way he put emphasis on certain words (like lipstick) and then paused in between (as noted for audience reaction), he meant it against Palin.
I’m a woman. We notice these things, because women have had people being snarky to them all our lives. We pick up on tone and meaning, because we learn it on the playground in elementary school. “Oh, I really LIKE your hair!” “Those pants are SO cute. Where DID you get them?” It’s in the surviving Mean Girls 101 book. Obama is one of the mean girls.
Sadly though, in his belief that he is too clever by half, he doesn't even see what a phyrric victory his little pot shot is. He gets to walk away and say “You're imagining things.” Sure. But three days from now, the name Barrack Obama will intrinsically be linked to the word pig in the hearts and minds of the American voters.
“We notice these things..”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n31VwNbTIVI
Watch around 1:10 for the lead-in to Obama giving Hillary “the FU finger” and notice the audience reaction, especially
when the the woman directly behind him on his left, who at first doesn’t “get it”, until her friend tells her what Obama just did.
Remember all the people behind Obama can also watch big screen monitors where they can see him from our perspective.