Yes it is, Bill. I’m sure you remember her fondly, right?
Let’s get something straight here. Obama technically was talking about dressing up old and bad policies. That is the angle he will hide behind in the coming days. However, his use of the metaphor was pre-meditated. The link is lipstick. He knew it was successful because of the cat calls and hoots from the audience after the first half of the line. If he were a gentleman and didn’t want the punch to land where it did, he would have stopped when the hooting and cat calls started and said, “wait, I am not talking about Governor Palin’s speech. I want to be sure I am talking about the old metaphor for repackaging old ideas.”
He did not do that because he knew he could come out and land a cheap and low shot and then hide behind a dubious meaning. This my friends, is the tactic of a weasel.