Free Republic

Fiction.

Byron York at the Corner talked to the Obama campaign.

The answer is no, it's not real, the report is made up. She did not speak to the organization.

Here’s DU’s reaction.

Like I care what the denizens of that sewer think...

He absolutely meant to call her a Pig

Very possibly.

and did so.

No, he didn't. He didn't even imply it. He used a cliche which allowed others to infer it.

Are you asking me to try and read his mind again over what he “meant” to say?

Nope. I'm saying that I don't care what he "meant" to say. What he actually said, the actual words that he used and the actual context in which he used them, fall well within the bounds of acceptable political discourse. We know that the words are words he has used before in a context that could not possibly have implied that Sarah Palin, or any other woman, is a pig.

I like K-lo's take in the Corner:
"Perhaps if it would provide an instructive mirror. We won't get mad if you use "lipstick on a pig" in reference to our team if you don't go bananas if we use "pot calling the kettle black" or any of another possibilities that the hypersensitive would scream about. It could be a cultural deep breath. "

That's all I'm saying.


And let's consider one more take on it. Let's say that a) Obama called Palin a pig and b) everyone knows it. How does it benefit the Republicans to whine about it? Take the high road. If everyone perceives him as calling her a pig, it'll hurt him much, much more than her. There's absolutely no political benefit for him (other than briefly amusing the furthest reaches of his base, the people who are going to show up and vote no matter what he says). Really, the Republicans should be quiet and pray that he calls her a pig again tomorrow and the next day.

Didn't you watch her RNC speech, where she said about hockey moms (herself included), that the only difference between them and a pit bull was...lipstick.

What kind of a rock would someone have had to have been hiding under not to have seen that? Seen it, heard it, read it. I know the line. I know that she used it.

None of which changes the fact that a) it's an old cliche (and I'd have to see some really compelling evidence to buy this "started in the homosexual community" meme - I don't think that the homosexual community had fed much into the language of rural Maine 40 years ago when I first heard it) that b) Obama has used before, c) he made no mention of Palin in close proximity to using it and d) it was not at all a strained cliche in the context in which he used it.

Again, I'm not going to debate whether he was thinking about her when he said it. He may well have been (though I think he's got a strong tendency to speak in familiar cliches when forced to speak extemporaneously). I'm arguing that it doesn't matter. There is nothing inherently offensive about the phrase, the context was appropriate, and since I abhor the left flogging thought-crime, I don't want to see it from the right, either.


And, just to make it clear, I think Barack Obama is the scariest Presidential candidate since George McGovern. I shudder when I contemplate the possible ramifications of an Obama Presidency. But there are many good and legitimate reasons to vote against him. This is just noise.

You’re whining about the Republicans whining.

If I were to concede that characterization (though I don't agree with it) it's because I more from the Republicans than the Democrats.

It is Liberal and Democrat women who are the Pigs

Way to keep that political discourse high...

If she did not say lipstick, BO would have never used the term.

Really? Then why was he quoted using it a year ago? Did he know that Palin would be the Republican VP candidate and use the lipstick joke, and was preemptively preparing a defense? Or was he just using a damned old cliche?

He may very well have been thinking about her when he said it. But it is by no means certain. It's an expression that he uses. And the audience may very well have been thinking about her when he said it. Words mean things, and the words that he used, and the context in which he used them were not inappropriate. The Republicans need to not whine about it.

"The expressions were typical of those used by male homosexuals about women."

That does not interest me in the slightest. The cliche is an old one, by no means a stereotypically homosexual one, and there's nothing wrong with it. Obama's used it before, McCain's used it before, there are at least four books with that title and there was nothing wrong with Obama using it the way he used it today.

Are you SERIOUS ?

Totally.

He used the word PIG talking about Sarah.

He certainly did not. He did nothing of the kind. Have you watched the video? He was talking about McCain, about McCain claiming to represent change.



"Let's just list this for a second. John McCain says he's about change, too, and so I guess his whole angle is, watch out, George Bush. Except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington. That's not change - that's just calling the same thing something different. But you know, you can put lipstick on a pig - it's still a pig."

There's nothing wrong with that statement (other than, you know, being factually incorrect.) As campaigning goes, it's perfectly legitimate, and any complaints come across as whining, pure and simple. I refuse to allow the grievance mongers and identify politics pimps that level of control of the language.

The Messiah’s getting desperate, calling our gal a pig. Little bit of flop sweat there.

He didn't call her a pig. He used a time-worn cliche. If McCain had chosen Mitt Romney as his VP and Obama has used that same cliche, no one would have noticed. The fact that he chose Palin does not make it a sexist comment, any more than the use of "niggardly" or "eeny meeny miny mo" is racist. For any of us to whine about it is buying into the left's political correctness and I'm not willing to do that.

I would have derided anyone complaining of McCain's use of the expression to describe Hillary's health care plan, and I'll deride anyone who complains of it now.

Senator McCain, Governor Palin - don't whine. It's unattractive...

If the Republicans make a big deal about this, they'll be mocked by many, including me. That's an old, old expression, and there's nothing wrong with Obama using it. He didn't call her a pig, and I'm going to be ticked off if there's a victimhood/sexism argument made. There is nothing at all wrong with him using that phrase. She's a big girl, and she can take care of herself. The fact that she used the lipstick joke doesn't mean that a common and effective cliche can no longer be legitimately used.

That said, it is conceivable that he did something during the speech, some gesture or facial expression or timing trick, that did make the connection clear, which would be unseemly. But whining is unattractive, and I'm going to be very unhappy if I see any of it from the ticket. They've certainly dished it out - joyfully and energetically - and they can suck it up and take it...

I thought the same of you!

Well, darn. You caught me. Not only is Obama CLEARLY a "closet Muslim," he had me register on Free Republic eight years ago and post off and on over that period, always in support of Republican candidates and conservative policies, simply so that I could support his disguise today.

I thought it was a brilliant plan, but you saw right through it. Well done!

It’s pretty obvious from ‘bama’s slips and gaffes that he’s not a bible believing Christian”

Leaving aside the question of whether or not that's true (there are many people who don't know the Bible all that well, and many more who believe parts of it but not other parts, who would still legitimately call themselves Christian), "not a Bible believing Christian" is by no means sufficient evidence to say "he's a Muslim."

You wouldn’t be an agitator, would you? Someone from DU or the Obama campaign, signed up to Free Republic to discredit Free Republic by posting nonsense?

Wow. So that's a reliable source now? We have to accept something because Qadhafi says it's true?

Please...

Perhaps it is false (doubtful since his father was one, among other reasons)

He may have been tribally a nominal Muslim at birth - there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that he is actually a "closet Muslim" in any meaningful way.

but why does the Obama camp consider it a smear nonetheless?

Because a) it's a lie that b) would cause many Americans to be less likely to vote for him.

When the moonbats suggest that Bristol is Trig’s mom, we rightly scoff at them for indulging in delusional fantasies. This is exactly the same kind of stuff - the idea that a) Obama’s a Muslim and b) he’s going somehow convert or betray the US because of it is delusional nonsense. There are an abundance of reasons to be very concerned about the potential of an Obama Presidency - going into the fever swamps with this stuff is counter-productive...

The numbers are seasonally adjusted.

There really is no good way to spin this. It's bad, very bad, and will overshadow anything good that came out of St. Paul this week. This will get flogged enthusiastically by the Democrats and the press, and blamed on Bush. It doesn't matter whether it's adjusted later, it doesn't matter what any other fundamentals are, this is very bad news for the McCain candidacy...

Press Release from the Labor Department

"The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non-farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month."

bump...

One could legitimately question the press release, ask what constitutional authority or responsibility the Federal government has to "make sure that all American children have access to physical fitness programs," but what's the point? The Democratic party has officially passed beyond pathetic on its way to becoming just a parody of a political party...

Possible confirmation timeline…